The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Biggest faction in Japan's ruling party decides to disband: lawmaker
TOKYO - The largest faction in Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided to disband, a lawmaker said Friday, as a political funds scandal involving the group formerly led by the late Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has deepened public distrust in politics.
The decision came shortly after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged to dissolve the party's fourth-biggest faction that he led until December and former LDP Secretary General Toshihiro Nikai expressed an intention to disband his fifth-largest group.
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Prosecutors indict several LDP faction members over funds scandal
TOKYO - Japanese prosecutors on Friday indicted several individuals from three factions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, including one formerly led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, over a political fundraising scandal that has sent shockwaves through the party.
But the prosecutors said they did not indict executives of the three factions due to a lack of evidence despite mounting criticism over the scandal, prompting opposition parties to lambaste LDP lawmakers for failing to take full responsibility.
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Japan core CPI logs fastest rise in 41 years in 2023, points to easing
TOKYO - Japan's core consumer prices rose 3.1 percent last year, marking the fastest pace of increase in 41 years, as the cost-of-living crisis deepened without robust wage growth, although inflation slowed in December, government data showed Friday.
The yearly increase in the nationwide core consumer price index came despite government subsidies to lower household utility bills, underscoring higher import costs that were inflated by a sharp drop of the yen, a byproduct of the Bank of Japan's monetary easing. Food prices rose 8.2 percent, the most in 48 years.
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North Korea claims it conducted underwater nuclear test in Sea of Japan
BEIJING - North Korea said Friday it conducted an "important test of its underwater nuclear weapon system" in the Sea of Japan in response to joint military exercises by the United States, South Korea and Japan.
The test was of the "Haeil-5-23" system, which is still under development, North Korea's Defense Ministry said in a statement, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. The statement did not give further details of the test.
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Football: Iraq upset Asian Cup favorites Japan 2-1
AL RAYYAN, Qatar - Iraq handed favorites Japan a wakeup call at the Asian Cup on Friday, winning their Group D clash 2-1 thanks to a brace from Aymen Hussein.
The forward from Iraqi club Al-Quwa Al-Jawiya netted in the fifth minute and first-half stoppage time, while Wataru Endo pulled one back for Japan in the 93rd minute, as the 2007 Asian champions moved into the knockout stage with two wins from two games.
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Japan's top diplomat eyes Fiji trip in Feb. for Pacific islands talks
TOKYO - Japan's Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa is arranging a visit to Fiji in the first half of February to attend a ministerial meeting with Pacific island countries and territories, diplomatic sources said Friday, in an apparent effort to counter China's expanding clout in the region.
Kamikawa is expected to highlight the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific based on the rule of law during her envisaged trip, bearing in mind Beijing's maritime assertiveness and growing economic influence in the area, the sources said.
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Record 87% of Japanese "do not feel friendly" toward China: survey
TOKYO - A record 86.7 percent of Japanese "do not feel friendly" toward China, a Japanese government poll showed Friday, as bilateral relations remain tense over a number of issues.
The annual poll, conducted from Sept. 7 to Oct. 15, followed China's total ban on marine products shipped from Japan that was imposed last August in response to the discharge into the sea of treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant.
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Amazon to invest 2 trillion yen in Japan's cloud business amid AI boom
TOKYO - Amazon.com Inc.'s cloud computing service unit said Friday it will invest about 2 trillion yen ($13.5 billion) in Japan to strengthen its cloud infrastructure by 2027, in an effort to cope with growing demand on the back of the generative artificial intelligence boom.
The funds will be used to expand the capabilities of its two data centers in the country, located in Tokyo and Osaka, the Japan unit of Amazon Web Services Inc. said. The new plan is in addition to the 1.51 trillion yen it invested in Japan between 2011 and 2022.
Video: Valentine's Day campaign at department store in Nagoya
