The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, U.S. leaders agree to beef up advanced technology cooperation
HIROSHIMA - Japan and the United States on Thursday agreed to step up their cooperation related to cutting-edge technologies such as semiconductors and artificial intelligence, an area where U.S.-China competition is intensifying.
At their talks in Hiroshima a day before the Group of Seven summit opens, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden also reaffirmed the importance of strengthening the bilateral alliance's deterrence amid China's growing military assertiveness and North Korea's missile and nuclear development programs.
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Japan PM eager to aim for nuclear-free world at G-7 Hiroshima summit
HIROSHIMA - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Thursday to pave the way for achieving his cherished goal of a world without nuclear weapons at the Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, a day before it opens in the western city devastated by a U.S. atomic bomb in 1945.
Earlier in the day, Kishida arrived in Hiroshima Prefecture, with stringent security in place, to host the first G-7 summit in Japan in seven years, following the one held in the Ise-Shima area of Mie Prefecture, central Japan, under then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke in hospital, suicide attempt suspected
TOKYO - Popular Kabuki actor Ichikawa Ennosuke was taken to hospital Thursday after his manager found him collapsed along with his parents at their home in Tokyo, an investigative source said, adding he is believed to have attempted suicide.
The 47-year-old actor's life was not in danger, the source said, although his mother, 75, was confirmed to have died at the home in Tokyo's Meguro Ward and his 76-year-old father Ichikawa Danshiro, also a Kabuki actor, was confirmed dead after reaching the hospital.
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S. Korean President Yoon to meet Japan's Kishida in Hiroshima on Sun.
SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol will meet with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida Sunday on the sidelines of a Group of Seven summit in Hiroshima, the presidential office said on Thursday, as bilateral relations continue to thaw.
Yoon has been invited to the three-day G-7 summit, starting Friday, as a guest. He and Kishida are expected to discuss various issues, such as enhancing security cooperation in the face of North Korea's missile development and other challenges in Asia.
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2 wounded Ukraine army soldiers to be treated in Japan next month
TOKYO - Two injured soldiers of Ukraine's armed forces will receive medical treatment in a hospital in Japan beginning next month, the Japanese defense minister said Thursday, as the country aims to show a stronger commitment to Ukraine ahead of the Group of Seven summit.
The two men in their 20s will undergo rehabilitation treatment at the Self-Defense Forces Central Hospital in Tokyo after one lost a leg while another lost both legs in Ukraine's ongoing battle to defend itself against Russia, according to the Defense Ministry.
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Biden not to issue apology in Hiroshima for U.S. use of atomic bomb
HIROSHIMA - U.S. President Joe Biden has no plans to issue an apology on behalf of the United States for the use of an atomic bomb on Hiroshima in 1945 during his trip to the city in western Japan for the Group of Seven summit, according to his national security adviser.
Biden, as one of the G-7 leaders, will "pay respects both for history but also respects" to Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who represents Hiroshima as a lawmaker, Jake Sullivan told reporters aboard Air Force One before arriving in Japan on Thursday.
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A-bomb survivor Thurlow urges G-7 to pledge no nuke use in summit
HIROSHIMA - Atomic bomb survivor Setsuko Thurlow has called on leaders of the Group of Seven industrialized nations to at least pledge "not to use nuclear weapons" when they hold a summit from Friday in the world's first city to suffer a nuclear attack.
Thurlow said in an interview with Kyodo News on Wednesday that the leaders, who are expected to tour the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum that commemorates those lost to the bombing, should also "reflect as individuals, or as human beings, on the terrible suffering that took place" and have what they learn reflected in their nuclear policies.
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Sony looks to list financial unit to accelerate entertainment push
TOKYO - Sony Group Corp. said Thursday it is considering a spinoff and listing of Sony Financial Group Inc. in the next few years as the Japanese conglomerate has been stepping up efforts to better focus on its entertainment and chip businesses.
Sony plans to retain a stake of around 20 percent in the financial unit, which includes a bank and a life insurance firm, after the listing, the group's president, Hiroki Totoki, said at a press conference outlining its business strategy for fiscal 2023.
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Video: Kyoto's Aoi Festival parade returns
