The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Kishida Cabinet support rate falls to 2nd-lowest 24.5% over scandal
TOKYO - The support rate for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet fell 2.8 percentage points to 24.5 percent, marking its second-lowest rating, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday, with most respondents indicating discontent with his fact-finding efforts regarding the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's political funds scandal.
Some 84.9 percent said LDP lawmakers who failed to report income from fundraising parties should explain what they used the funds for, while 87 percent expect the party's reform proposals drawn up in an interim report will not help the LDP restore public trust.
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China named as hypothetical enemy for 1st time in Japan-U.S. exercise
TOKYO - The Japanese Self-Defense Forces and the U.S. military named China as a hypothetical enemy for the first time in their joint command post exercise, government sources said Sunday, amid rising concerns over a potential invasion of Taiwan by Beijing in the future.
The computer simulation exercise, which began on Feb. 1 and is slated to be held through Thursday, envisions an emergency in Taiwan. A provisional name was previously used when referring to an enemy.
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Biden easily wins 1st Democratic presidential nomination contest
COLUMBIA, South Carolina - U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday easily won South Carolina's Democratic primary that formally began the party's nomination process for the November presidential election, saying he is confident of defeating his predecessor Donald Trump, the clear front-runner in the Republican race.
Although the outcome was not in doubt, the primary was a significant test of the incumbent president's standing among black voters, who account for more than half of the party's electorate in the Southern state and played a crucial role in his victory in the previous election.
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Sapporo Snow Festival opens with all COVID restrictions removed
SAPPORO - The annual Sapporo Snow Festival opened in the capital of Hokkaido on Sunday without any novel coronavirus-related restrictions for the first time in four years.
The 74th festival, one of the country's biggest winter events, is being held at three venues in the city through Feb. 11, with about 190 snow and ice sculptures including some created by local residents.
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Baseball: Ohtani "very confident" he'll be in Opening Day lineup
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers two-way player Shohei Ohtani said Saturday he is "very confident" of being the team's designated hitter when they open the season on March 20 against the San Diego Padres in Seoul.
"We're right on schedule," Ohtani said through interpreter Ippei Mizuhara at a fan festival at Dodger Stadium. "As long as there are no setbacks going forward, I'll be ready."
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LDP factions financially struggling without donations from party
TOKYO - Factions within Japan's Liberal Democratic Party have been financially struggling since the LDP stopped offering donations to them in 2010, their balance reports showed, apparently prodding them to rely on fundraising events to procure money.
As the LDP, headed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has decided to ban its intraparty groups from holding fundraising parties as part of efforts to reform its faction-oriented politics, their financial situations are set to deteriorate further, political experts said.
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Japanese pastry flavors mimic stages of love with help from AI
TOKYO - A selection of five pastries signifying the different stages of love has been curated in Japan, with their flavors devised with the assistance of artificial intelligence.
Kimuraya Sohonten bakery and technology firm NEC Corp. collaborated to make the "RenAI" bread, a pun on the word for love in Japanese and AI, in a bid to produce a food that "makes you fall in love when you eat it."
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China ships warn Japan SDF planes to leave airspace near Senkakus
BEIJING - China Coast Guard vessels began last month to issue warnings for Japanese Self-Defense Forces planes to leave airspace over and around the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The warnings via radio communications are based on Beijing's claim that SDF aircraft could violate Chinese territorial airspace around the islands, called Diaoyu in China, and have been made several times since January, the sources said.
Video: Actress scatters beans at temple near Tokyo in traditional ritual
