The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan SDF planes head for Djibouti to prep for Israel evacuation
TOKYO - Three Air Self-Defense Force airplanes left Japan for Djibouti in East Africa on Saturday to prepare for the possible airlifting of Japanese nationals from Israel, where tensions are rising following Palestinian militant group Hamas's massive attack a week ago.
The ASDF's KC767 refueling and transport airplane departed from Komaki Air Base in central Japan and two C2 transport planes left Miho Air Base in the western prefecture of Tottori to stand by at an SDF base in Djibouti.
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Japan's AI draft guidelines ask for measures to address overreliance
TOKYO - Companies and organizations that utilize artificial intelligence will be required to take measures to reduce the risk of overreliance on the technology, draft guidelines by a Japanese government panel showed Saturday.
The draft guidelines obtained by Kyodo News also call on AI developers to be careful not to use biased data for machine learning, while urging them to maintain records of their interactions with the technology, to be provided in the event of any issues.
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Japan to provide remote medical care, smart farming tech to Ukraine
TOKYO - Japan is looking to provide remote medical care services and smart farming technology to Ukraine in order to help revive its economy and restore areas of the country devastated by Russia's invasion, government sources said Saturday.
The measures will serve as pillars of cooperation by Japanese companies and will be revealed at a meeting in Japan early next year to promote economic reconstruction in the Eastern European nation.
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BOJ bought 1,000 tril. yen in bonds over 10 years under easing policy
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan has bought a total of 1.01 quadrillion yen ($6.7 trillion) worth of Japanese government bonds since embarking on its ultraeasy monetary policy about a decade ago, resulting in the central bank controversially holding about half of outstanding national bonds, the bank's data showed.
The BOJ bought around 7 trillion yen worth of Japanese government bonds in September alone, according to the data, bringing its aggregated purchase above its threshold of 1 quadrillion yen.
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EU foreign policy chief urges China not to supply arms to Russia
BEIJING - Visiting European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said Saturday he has urged China not to support Russia in its war against Ukraine by providing weapons or helping Moscow circumvent Western sanctions.
Borrell, who is on a three-day China visit, also told a press conference he has asked Beijing to use its influence to make Russia go back to a grain deal initiative to allow the resumption of Ukraine grain exports via the Black Sea.
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G20 notes uncertain global economic outlook, airs concern over wars
MARRAKECH, Morocco - The Group of 20 finance chiefs said Friday the outlook for world economic growth is increasingly uncertain, agreeing that geopolitical issues can have grave consequences as they adopted a joint statement for the first time in over a year, but without singling out Russia or making reference to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
Capping two days of talks in Morocco, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors expressed "deep concern" about the human suffering and other adverse impacts caused by "wars and conflicts around the world."
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Japan to offer shopping points to promote contactless delivery
TOKYO - The Japanese government will start giving online shopping points to people who choose to have packages delivered outside their front doors to ease the burden on delivery staff, according to a policy package compiled in early October.
The step is part of efforts to cope with the impact of tougher overtime regulations for truck drivers next year. It aims to halve the percentage of items redelivered when people are not at home from the current 12 percent to 6 percent in fiscal 2024 starting next April.
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Japan chipmaker Kioxia, Western Digital close to merger: sources
TOKYO - Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. and its U.S. peer Western Digital Corp. are expected to agree on a merger as early as this month, sources familiar with the matter said Friday, a deal that would create the world's leading producer of memory chips for PCs and smartphones.
The two companies plan to set up a holding company to integrate their operations of producing NAND flash memory chips, widely used in electronic devices. They aim to list the new company on the Nasdaq stock exchange in the United States, according to the sources.
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U.S. says N. Korea made large arms shipment to Russia for Ukraine war
WASHINGTON - The United States said Friday that North Korea has recently delivered more than 1,000 containers of military equipment and munitions to Russia for its war in Ukraine.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby disclosed the information during an online press briefing and stressed that the United States will continue to expose such arms deals to prevent North Korea from aiding "Russia's war machine in secret."
According to the White House, between Sept. 7 and Oct. 1, a set of containers was shipped from North Korea's port of Najin to Dunay in Russia.
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Baseball: Carp take playoff opener on Akiyama's walk-off single
HIROSHIMA - Shogo Akiyama hit a walk-off single in the 11th inning to give the Hiroshima Carp a 3-2 victory Saturday over the DeNA BayStars in Game 1 of the best-of-three first stage in the Central League Climax Series.
With runners at the corners and two outs in the 11th, the former Cincinnati Reds outfielder drove a 0-1 pitch from J.B. Wendelken over the head of center fielder Tatsuo Ebina at Mazda Stadium.
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Video: Hundreds protest outside Israel Embassy in Tokyo
