The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Ex-U.S. security adviser concerned over Japan app market expansion
WASHINGTON - A former top U.S. national security official has voiced concern over the Japanese government's plan to require major app store operators such as Apple Inc. and Google LLC to allow users to download apps outside of their selling platforms.
"There's no question that the Chinese Communist Party is going to take advantage" of any new law permitting apps from unvetted third-party sources, said Robert O'Brien, who was national security adviser from September 2019 to January 2021 for then-President Donald Trump, in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
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2 dead, 28 others injured in Baltimore mass shooting: reports
NEW YORK - At least two people are dead and 28 others were injured in a mass shooting during a party in Baltimore on Sunday morning, local media reported.
Nine people were transported to local hospitals and three of the injured are in critical condition, according to the reports.
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Football: Iniesta bids farewell as Kobe snatch late draw with Sapporo
KOBE - Spanish great Andres Iniesta played his final game for Vissel Kobe on Saturday, making his first J-League top-flight start this season and coming off to a standing ovation before the home side salvaged a 1-1 draw with Consadole Sapporo.
Limited to just 38 prior minutes of league action this term, the former Barcelona star and 2010 World Cup winner captained Kobe at Noevir Stadium in the 114th and last game of his five-year stint in J1.
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Kyoto offers $2,770 premium seats for famous Gion Festival
KYOTO - A Kyoto tourism association is selling premium tickets worth 400,000 yen ($2,770) each to view the Gion Festival, one of the largest festivals in Japan, held annually in July.
The 84 seats, mainly for foreign tourists, will be set up at an intersection in the heart of the city. Here, they can witness the captivating spectacle of traditional floats spinning 90 degrees through the power of human effort as one of the highlights of the Yamahoko parade portion of the festival on July 17.
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Italian painting looted by Nazi Germany in 1940 found in Japan
TOKYO - A valuable painting looted from a Polish aristocrat in 1940 by Nazi Germany has been discovered in Japan and returned to Poland, according to the Polish Embassy in Japan and a Tokyo-based art auction company.
While it is not clear how the painting, called "Madonna with Child" by Italian Baroque-Era painter Alessandro Turchi, came to be in possession of its former Japanese owner, the artwork was handed into the Polish Embassy in Tokyo in late May at no cost to Poland.
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Japan to appoint Masuda as top bureaucrat at Defense Ministry
TOKYO - The Japanese government plans to appoint Kazuo Masuda, director general for defense policy, as the Defense Ministry's top bureaucrat after he played a central role in formulating Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's security agenda, a source close to the matter said Saturday.
Masuda, 59, head of the ministry's Bureau of Defense Policy, would replace Atsuo Suzuki, 61, as vice defense minister, the source said. Kishida's Cabinet will formally decide on the appointment in early July.
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Heavy rain lashes western Japan, leaving 1 dead, 2 missing
TOKYO - Heavy rain pounded parts of western Japan and the southwestern Kyushu region on Saturday, with record-breaking precipitation reported in several locations, causing one fatality and leaving two others missing, local authorities and the weather agency said.
The Japan Meteorological Agency said the seasonal rain front is expected to stay over the Kyushu region and could bring heavy rain even after the current torrential rains weaken.
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China's revised anti-espionage law takes effect amid business worries
BEIJING - China's revised counterespionage law took effect Saturday, broadening the scope of what constitutes spying activities to safeguard national security, with expatriates and foreign businesses worried about its arbitrary enforcement in the country.
The amended law, which was originally adopted in 2014 to guard state secrets, makes it possible for Chinese authorities to crack down on stealing and disseminating "documents, data, materials and items related to national security and interests."
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Tokyo area enters power-saving period amid tight supply forecast
TOKYO - Households and businesses in the Tokyo area on Saturday began a period of power conservation, spanning from July to August, as the electricity supply is forecast to become tight in the area this summer.
The Japanese government has issued a request based on the projection that the reserve power capacity rate in the region served by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. in July could drop to 3.1 percent, slightly above the lowest level for maintaining a stable supply, if a once-in-a-decade level of extreme heat grips the area.
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Video: 3D advertising board featuring Akita dog in Osaka
