The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan OKs 112 tril. yen FY 2024 budget, size shrinks as COVID wanes
TOKYO - Japan on Friday approved a 112.07 trillion yen ($787 billion) draft budget for fiscal 2024, marking the first drop in 12 years as COVID-related emergency funding was trimmed, but outlays for defense, social security and debt-servicing all swelled to a record high.
The budget, although smaller than the record 114.38 trillion yen allocated for the current business year to March, is still the second-largest, underscoring the urgency for debt-ridden Japan to rein in spending and restore its fiscal health.
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Japan eases rules on weapon exports to enhance security ties
TOKYO - Japan relaxed its strict regulations on defense equipment transfers Friday in a bid to ramp up security ties with like-minded countries and foster related domestic industries through weapons and ammunition exports.
The first major change in Japan's weapons export system since 2014, when the country removed its arms embargo policy maintained under its war-renouncing Constitution, comes amid an increasingly severe security environment due to geopolitical tensions with China, Russia and North Korea.
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Japan to start offering residency to 4th-generation descendants
TOKYO - Japan's immigration agency announced Friday it will offer permanent residency to fourth-generation foreigners of Japanese descent who fulfill certain language requirements under a new program it plans to launch later this month.
The change will allow such descendants and their families to live indefinitely in Japan as the country seeks to nurture individuals familiar with both their ancestral and Japanese cultures.
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Japan ruling LDP replaces 2 execs amid political fundraising scandal
TOKYO - Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, replaced two of its executives Friday following a political fundraising scandal involving the party's largest faction.
Former education minister Kisaburo Tokai became new policy chief, succeeding Koichi Hagiuda who tendered his resignation last week when Kishida replaced four Cabinet members from the powerful faction, formerly led by slain Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
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Japan's population forecast to fall nationwide except Tokyo in 2050
TOKYO - The population in all of Japan's 47 prefectures except Tokyo is projected to fall in 2050 from 2020 levels, a government estimate showed Friday.
Eleven prefectures will each see their population shrink by over 30 percent, while the number of residents in some 20 percent of all municipalities is expected to more than halve, according to the National Institute of Population and Social Security Research.
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Daihatsu resumes auto shipments in Indonesia amid safety scandal
OSAKA - Daihatsu Motor Co. said Friday it has resumed vehicle shipments in Indonesia, two days after the Japanese carmaker halted all domestic and global shipments as it was determined most models had been subjected to improper safety tests.
Indonesian authorities confirmed the safety of Daihatsu cars, as well as those produced by its local unit under the Toyota Motor Corp. brand and greenlit the resumption of shipments, Daihatsu said.
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Leftist gets 20 yrs for policeman's 1971 murder after 45 yrs on run
TOKYO - A Japanese court on Friday sentenced a 74-year-old far-left activist, who had been on the run for decades, to 20 years in prison for killing a policeman, among other charges, during a riot in Tokyo in 1971.
The decision by the Tokyo District Court came after Masaaki Osaka denied all charges, while prosecutors had sought life imprisonment. He was arrested in 2017, marking an end to his 45 years on the run.
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Figure skating: Kaori Sakamoto flawless in nationals' short program
NAGANO, Japan - Two-time defending world champion Kaori Sakamoto took a commanding lead at the Japan national figure skating championships Friday by winning the women's short program with a score of 78.78.
Sakamoto, who has also won the last two nationals and is fresh off her maiden Grand Prix Final title in Beijing this month, delivered a flawless program. The meet at Nagano Big Hat is the final qualifying event ahead of March's world championships in Montreal.
Video: New hangout for football fans unveiled in Tokyo
