The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Nikkei stock index ends at fresh record high
TOKYO - The Nikkei index extended its winning streak to three trading days, closing at a fresh record high Thursday boosted by optimism about the U.S. economy after the Federal Reserve signaled three interest rate cuts for the year.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 812.06 points, or 2.03 percent, from Tuesday at 40,815.66. It briefly hit a record intraday high of 40,823.32.
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Dodgers fire Ohtani's interpreter over theft, gambling allegations
SEOUL - The Los Angeles Dodgers have fired Shohei Ohtani's high-profile interpreter Ippei Mizuhara, the club said Thursday, following allegations he stole millions of dollars of the star's money to cover illegal gambling debts.
A Los Angeles Times report earlier cited "two sources" as saying the money involved was "in the millions of dollars." Sports network ESPN said the total was at least $4.5 million in payments from Ohtani to an illegal gambling operation.
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Japan sees record cannabis cases in 2023, 70% among young people
TOKYO - A record 6,482 people were investigated in criminal cases involving cannabis in Japan last year, up 1,140 from the previous year, with teens and young adults in their 20s accounting for over 70 percent of the figure, police said Thursday.
The number of people involved in cannabis-related cases exceeded those associated with stimulant drugs for the first time since data became available in 1958, according to the National Police Agency.
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Japan, U.S., Philippines vow to boost ties ahead of April summit
TOKYO - Senior diplomats from Japan, the United States and the Philippines on Thursday pledged to further promote their cooperation, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, paving the way for their first-ever trilateral summit next month.
The senior officials also acknowledged that any attempts to unilaterally change the status quo by force cannot be tolerated, according to the ministry, in an apparent criticism of China's increasing maritime assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
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Japanese men identified as pair who drowned near popular U.S. falls
TOKYO - Two men who died in a suspected drowning over the weekend near Washington state's popular Eagle Falls have been identified by authorities as Japanese nationals.
Takayuki Suzuki, 34, and Hiroya Konosu, 21, were identified Tuesday by the local medical examiner's office, according to media reports. Both men were studying abroad.
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Taiwan Caribbean ally vows not to succumb to China pressure
TAIPEI - The ambassador of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, a Caribbean nation that has diplomatic relations with Taiwan, has vowed in a recent interview with Kyodo News that her country will not succumb to China's pressure to switch recognition to Beijing.
The Caribbean nation is one of Taiwan's 12 remaining allies. Andrea Bowman, the ambassador to the Asian island and dean of the diplomatic corps in Taipei, said her country cherishes its deep bond with the territory, despite a number of countries having cut official ties with Taiwan in favor of mainland China.
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Japan watching foreign exchange moves with urgency: finance chief
TOKYO - Japan is closely monitoring foreign exchange moves "with a high sense of urgency," Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki said Thursday after the yen hit a four-month low to the U.S. dollar.
The yen fell to as low as 151.82 overnight in New York amid market expectations that the Bank of Japan will not rush to raise interest rates despite its removal of its negative rate policy.
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Japan GSDF resumes Osprey flights near Tokyo after fatal U.S. crash
TOKYO - Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force resumed Thursday flights of its Ospreys near Tokyo, almost four months after suspending them due to a deadly crash of a U.S. military Osprey off a southwestern Japanese island.
The move came a week after U.S. forces resumed Osprey operations in Japan following their lifting of a worldwide flight ban on the tilt-rotor aircraft March 8 without offering a detailed explanation about the cause of the Nov. 29 accident that killed all eight airmen on board.
Video: Kids watch MLB opener, cheer for Ohtani at Japanese school in Seoul
