The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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G7 foreign ministers to begin 2-day talks with Middle East in focus
TOKYO - The Group of Seven foreign ministers on Tuesday will begin two days of talks in Tokyo likely to be dominated by the escalating war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, and the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
The ministers are working on an outcome document in which they are expected to agree on the necessity of a pause in the conflict to deliver essential supplies to civilians in the Hamas-ruled Palestinian enclave, besieged by Israel, government sources said.
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Japan, Britain vow to deepen security ties amid concern over China
TOKYO - Japan and Britain pledged Tuesday to deepen their security partnership in the Indo-Pacific while also expressing concern over China's assertive military posture in the region.
The Japanese and British foreign and defense ministers meanwhile reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in its fight against Russia's invasion and condemned "terror attacks" by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel last month, in a joint statement released after their "two-plus-two" talks.
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Unification Church to allocate up to 10 billion yen for compensation
TOKYO - The Unification Church's Japan branch said Tuesday it plans to allocate up to 10 billion yen ($67 million) to the Japanese government to cover possible compensation for former believers and their families over forced donations amid concerns that it would transfer its assets overseas.
At a press conference in Tokyo, Tomihiro Tanaka, the branch's head, expressed remorse over last month's request by the government for a court order to dissolve the religious organization over its aggressive donation solicitation tactics but stressed that he could not accept it.
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Japan Sept. marine product exports to China tank 90% after import ban
TOKYO - Japan's marine product exports to China plunged 90.8 percent from a year earlier to 800 million yen ($5.3 million) in September, after Beijing began a blanket import ban on Japanese seafood over the discharge of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant into the sea, government data showed Tuesday.
The China-bound exports fell for the third consecutive month, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, with the continued drop in shipments to the largest destination hurting the Japanese fisheries industry.
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Rugby: Jones says interested in coaching Japan, has not had job offer
YOKOHAMA - Former Japan rugby head coach Eddie Jones said on Tuesday that he is interested in coaching the Brave Blossoms again, but, so far, he has not received an offer.
Speaking with Kyodo News in Yokohama, the 63-year-old Australian said he had not scheduled an interview or held any formal discussions about the Japan coaching job, which remains vacant following the departure of Jamie Joseph after the recent World Cup in France.
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Nintendo posts record profit, lifts earnings forecast on weak yen
OSAKA - Nintendo Co. on Tuesday posted a record profit for the April-September period and lifted its net profit forecast for the full year ending March by more than 20 percent from an earlier projection, citing brisk video game sales and the benefit of a weaker yen.
For the six months ended September, net profit rose 17.7 percent from a year earlier to a record 271.30 billion yen ($1.8 billion) on sales of 796.24 billion yen, up 21.2 percent. The record figure came as sales of its Switch game console grew 2.4 percent to 6.84 million units.
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SDF exercise suspended after member shows middle finger to reporters
TOKYO - Japan's defense minister said Tuesday the Ground Self-Defense Force's exercise at a shooting range in central Japan has been suspended due to inappropriate conduct by a member, including showing his middle finger to reporters.
The incident occurred Monday in front of the firing range in Gifu Prefecture, where a training exercise resumed the same day after an 18-year-old recruit fatally shot two instructors and injured another in June.
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Japan hospital denies LGBT woman support for IVF pregnancy
TOKYO - An LGBT advocacy group urged the Japanese government on Tuesday to ensure all pregnant women have access to the same level of medical support after a woman in a same-sex relationship who became pregnant through in-vitro fertilization was denied treatment at a hospital.
In the request presented to the Children and Families Agency, the Tokyo-based organization Kodomap also highlighted another case in which a hospital refused to give a checkup to an unmarried pregnant woman who planned to raise the child on her own.
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Video: Autumn foliage at Ankoku-ji temple in Hyogo Prefecture
