The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan enacts revised 112.57 tril. yen budget for FY 2024
TOKYO - Japan's parliament on Thursday enacted a 112.57 trillion yen ($744 billion) budget for fiscal 2024 starting in April, the second-largest, to better respond to security threats and demographic challenges, ease the pain of inflation and rebuild earthquake-hit areas.
The budget includes a record 7.95 trillion yen in defense spending as the nation seeks to bolster defense capabilities in the face of threats from China and North Korea. The government revised its initial plan and double the amount of emergency funds to 1 trillion yen after a deadly quake hit central Japan on New Year's Day.
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2 more deaths linked to Kobayashi Pharma supplements
OSAKA - Kobayashi Pharmaceutical Co. said Thursday that it has confirmed two more deaths linked to its red yeast rice dietary supplements, with the burgeoning health scandal leading to widespread voluntary recalls.
The products had already been implicated in two other deaths from kidney-related conditions and over 100 hospitalizations, according to the health ministry, which conducted a hearing with the Osaka-based company.
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"Fruitful" Japan-North Korea ties will benefit both nations: PM Kishida
TOKYO - Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that building "fruitful" relations with North Korea will benefit both countries as well as helping regional stability, days after Pyongyang rejected any further contact or negotiations with Tokyo.
"We will continue to address issues related to North Korea," including the long-standing issue of Japanese nationals abducted by Pyongyang in the 1970s and 1980s, Kishida said at a press conference.
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TEPCO submits plan to load nuclear fuel in idled reactor
TOKYO - Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said Thursday it has submitted a plan to the nuclear regulator to begin loading fuel in a reactor at an idled plant, northwest of Tokyo, next month, as part of moves to potentially restart the facility.
The proposed loading of the No.7 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant in Niigata Prefecture from April 15 was submitted to the Nuclear Regulation Authority. TEPCO has yet to restart any of its reactors halted after the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster triggered by the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami.
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Takarazuka theater admits to all harassment claims in actress death
OSAKA - Japan's all-female musical theater company Takarazuka Revue on Thursday admitted to all claims of harassment against a deceased actress by troupe members and apologized to her family.
The two sides have reached a broad agreement on various issues, including compensation, as the theater company acknowledged all 14 incidents of harassment pointed out by the family, an official of the troupe's parent firm Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc. said at a press conference held in Osaka Prefecture.
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Congressman affirms continued U.S. support for Taiwan
TAIPEI - U.S. lawmaker Jack Bergman affirmed Congress's continued support for his nation's ties with Taiwan during meetings with the island's leader Tsai Ing-wen and her successor Lai Ching-te in Taipei on Thursday, citing the territory's status as a key partner in the Indo-Pacific region.
Bergman, a Republican congressman and House Armed Services Committee member, led a U.S. congressional delegation to Taiwan, marking the third such delegation from Congress made public since the Jan. 13 Taiwanese presidential election. During his visit, he met separately with Tsai and Lai.
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U.N. experts air concerns over new Hong Kong security ordinance
HONG KONG - United Nations experts have expressed concerns over Hong Kong's recently adopted national security ordinance, saying it could undermine fundamental human rights and freedoms, a document posted online showed Thursday.
The ordinance intended to supplement the national security law imposed by Beijing in 2020 was unanimously enacted last week by Hong Kong's Legislative Council just 11 days after it was submitted.
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Kishida indicates LDP may question ex-PM Mori about funds scandal
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday indicated the possibility of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party questioning former premier Yoshiro Mori about a political funds scandal that came to light late last year.
Mori "could be included" as a target of the LDP's investigation as "he is needed to clarify political responsibility," Kishida said at a parliamentary session, while declining to comment on whether the former leader was involved in the scandal.
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Toyota domestic sales drop for 2nd month in Feb. on data scandals
NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday its domestic sales declined for the second straight month in February, hit by a slew of data-rigging scandals among its group companies Daihatsu Motor Co. and Toyota Industries Corp.
The number of cars Toyota sold in Japan dropped 33.3 percent from a year earlier to 103,946 units, while domestic output slumped by 12.9 percent, also affected by the temporary suspension of its factories due to heavy snow, the world's largest automaker said.
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Japan police report record high 123,000 child abuse cases in 2023
TOKYO - Japanese police alerted child welfare centers of a record-high 122,806 suspected abuse victims in 2023, up 6.1 percent from the previous year, amid growing concern and awareness about the abuse of minors, the National Police Agency said Thursday.
A record 2,385 criminal investigations into child abuse cases were conducted by police last year, up 9.4 percent from 2022, according to data compiled by the agency.
Video: Universal Studio Japan to increase foreign workers
