The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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1 dies after consuming Japan drugmaker's health supplements
OSAKA - One person has died from kidney disease after apparently consuming dietary supplements produced by Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. for about three years, the Japanese drugmaker said Tuesday.
The person, whose place of residence, gender and age were not disclosed, purchased a total of 35 packages of the company's supplements containing "beni-koji" red yeast rice that have been recalled due to reports of kidney and other health problems.
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Weapon export rules eased to allow Japan to sell fighter jets
TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday eased its strict defense equipment transfer rules to allow a worldwide export of next-generation fighter jets set to be jointly developed with Britain and Italy, removing a hurdle for the trilateral project.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet approved the updated guidelines of the "three principles on transfer of defense equipment and technology" after his ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner, the Komeito party, agreed on the revised export rules on March 15.
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Baseball: Ohtani denies gambling involvement, slams fired interpreter
LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Dodgers star Shohei Ohtani said Monday he is not involved in gambling and never made payments to an alleged illegal bookmaker in California.
Ohtani spoke to the media for the first time since illegal gambling and theft allegations against his longtime interpreter Ippei Mizuhara emerged last week. Without taking questions from reporters at Dodger Stadium, Ohtani read a prepared statement in Japanese quickly for over 10 minutes.
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Top court says same-sex partners eligible for crime victims' benefit
TOKYO - Japan's top court on Tuesday said same-sex partners are eligible for crime victims' benefit as surviving family members, the first such ruling in the country that does not recognize same-sex marriage.
The Supreme Court's Third Petty Bench scrapped the Nagoya High Court ruling and sent back the case to the high court, which did not recognize the eligibility of Yasuhide Uchiyama, 49, whose same-sex partner of decades was murdered."
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North Korea rejects any further negotiations with Japan: KCNA
BEIJING - North Korea on Tuesday rejected any further contact or negotiations with Japan and said a summit meeting between its leader Kim Jong Un and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is not in its interest, according to the country's state-run media.
Kim Yo Jong, sister of the North Korean leader, clarified Pyongyang's stance in a statement carried by the official Korean Central News Agency, a day after revealing Kishida has conveyed his intention to meet Kim Jong Un "as soon as possible."
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Japanese land prices up for 3rd year, returns to pre-pandemic levels
WASHINGTON - The U.S. and British governments on Monday accused China of carrying out extensive cyberattacks, imposing sanctions on two individuals and one company.
In a related development, the U.S. Justice Department said seven Chinese citizens, including the two, had been indicted for their involvement in a hacking group known as APT31 that engaged in an around 14-year operation that targeted government officials, companies, journalists, academics and others for sensitive information.
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Japan warns of North Korean IT workers posing as Japanese to earn money
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Tuesday warned domestic companies about contracting North Korean IT workers posing as Japanese nationals to earn cash, as it is suspected they are using the proceeds in such cases to fund Pyongyang's ballistic missile and nuclear weapons development programs.
Individuals and companies found to be offering work to such people could be in violation of domestic laws, including the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act, as U.N. sanctions demand that member states ensure Pyongyang's access to financial resources for developing weapons of mass destruction is thwarted, the government said in a warning statement.
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Japan envoy in China meets detained national for 2nd time
BEIJING - Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi met Tuesday for the second time with a Japanese citizen who has been detained in Beijing for about a year on suspicion of espionage, a Japanese government source said.
Last week, Chinese authorities notified Tokyo of their decision to launch a process to examine whether to indict the man, a senior Astellas Pharma Inc. employee who was formally arrested in October.
Video: ANA unveils 429-seat B787-10 for domestic routes
