The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan to begin releasing second batch of Fukushima water on Oct. 5
TOKYO - The release of the second batch of treated radioactive water from the wrecked Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant into the ocean will commence on Oct. 5, the facility's operator said Thursday.
Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. plans to release approximately 7,800 tons of treated radioactive water, the same amount as the first discharge, into the sea over a period of around 17 days.
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Mitsubishi Motors eyes ending production in China amid sales slump
TOKYO - Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering pulling out of car production in China, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday, as the Japanese automaker's sales slump amid a rapid shift to electric vehicles in the country.
Mitsubishi Motors, which halted output in China in March due to falling sales and the rise of local brands, now plans to focus its resources on the Southeast Asian market, the sources said.
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American soldier arrives in U.S. after being expelled by North Korea
BEIJING - An American soldier who crossed the heavily armed border into North Korea from South Korea in July arrived back in the United States on Thursday after being expelled by Pyongyang, CNN reported.
A U.S. military flight carrying Travis King, a private second class in the Army, landed at a base in Texas in the early hours of Thursday, the report said, quoting a Defense Department official.
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North Korea adopts constitutional amendment on bolstering nuclear force
BEIJING - North Korea adopted a constitutional amendment to incorporate its policy of "rapidly developing nuclear weapons to a higher level" during a key parliamentary session earlier this week, with leader Kim Jong Un stressing the need to deter U.S. military "provocations," state-run media said Thursday.
At the two-day session of the Supreme People's Assembly through Wednesday, Kim said, "We must neither change nor concede the present position of our country as a nuclear weapons state, but, on the contrary, continue to further strengthen the nuclear force," the official Korean Central News Agency reported.
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Taiwan unveils 1st indigenous submarine amid cross-strait tensions
TAIPEI - Taiwan unveiled its first indigenous defense submarine, "Narwhal," on Thursday in the southern port city of Kaohsiung, in what the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen described as a milestone in "defense independence" amid cross-strait tensions.
Speaking at a ceremony, Tsai said in front of the naval vessel that the day will forever be remembered for the launch of the submarine designed and built by Taiwanese people. It will undergo testing at sea starting in October and is expected to be delivered to the navy by late 2024, according to local media reports.
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Japan PM Kishida's political groups misreported 2021 donations
TOKYO - Several political groups for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida misreported donations received in 2021, their funds reports showed Thursday, following recent revelations of improper handling of donations involving other Cabinet members.
A total of 10 cases of misreported funds have been found, including one involving the Liberal Democratic Party's Hiroshima No. 1 constituency chapter, headed by Kishida, in which a donation worth 100,000 yen ($670) from another ruling party group was not declared.
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Phone signal search behind Japan ship's Mauritius oil spill: report
TOKYO - Japan's transport safety authority concluded Thursday a cargo ship ran aground and spilled oil off Mauritius in 2020 because it altered its planned route and approached the coast in order to pick up mobile phone signals.
The Japan Transport Safety Board also said that COVID-19 travel restrictions and border closures may have slowed containment efforts and increased the damage caused by the massive oil spill.
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Asian Games: N. Korea picks up 1st gold medals of Hangzhou Asiad
HANGZHOU, China - North Korea captured its first three gold medals of the Asian Games in China's Hangzhou on Thursday, with gymnast An Chang Ok taking two and the other clinched in the women's team 10-meter running target range shooting.
An led a 1-2 North Korean finish in the women's vault with Kim Son Hyang and doubled her gold medal total in the uneven bars.
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Video: Mitsubishi Estate Co. begins constructing what is expected to be Japan's tallest skyscraper
