The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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U.S.-Japan alliance upgrade needed amid "more assertive China": envoy
TOKYO - The United States seeks to modernize the command structure of its decades-old security alliance with Japan to deal with a "much more assertive China" including toward Taiwan, U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel said Friday as the two countries look to discuss the issue at an upcoming summit in Washington.
Speaking ahead of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's visit to the United States next week as a state guest, where a series of agreements are expected to showcase the robust ties of the close allies, the ambassador told reporters, "We are literally in the first chapter writing a new era."
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Tokyo stocks plunge on firmer yen, Mideast tensions
TOKYO - Tokyo stocks plunged Friday, driven by the yen's rise against the U.S. dollar and escalating tensions in the Middle East amid a cautious mood ahead of U.S. jobs data due later in the day.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 781.06 points, or 1.96 percent, from Thursday at 38,992.08. The broader Topix index finished 29.38 points, or 1.08 percent, lower at 2,702.62.
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Japan to limit number of asylum applications to speed up deportations
TOKYO - Japan will enforce a limit on the number of times foreign nationals can apply for asylum under a new system starting in June, the government said Friday, allowing it to deport people who have been rejected multiple times.
The country's Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Law was revised last year to allow the deportation of those who have made three or more asylum applications, despite criticisms from opposition parties and lawyers who argued it could result in people being persecuted in their home countries upon their return.
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Janet Yellen voices concern about EV overproduction to China's vice premier
BEIJING - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told China's Vice Premier He Lifeng on Friday that the two countries should closely communicate on industrial overcapacity and economic actions related to national security as among issues of concern.
Yellen's remark at the opening of the meeting with He, China's economic policy chief, in Guangzhou, southern China, comes as she has expressed concerns about overproduction of Chinese electric vehicles that are flooding the global market, amid intensifying rivalry between the two nations.
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Japan to extend $1 million aid to quake-hit Taiwan
TOKYO - Japan will extend $1 million in aid to Taiwan for disaster relief and recovery work following a powerful earthquake earlier this week, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Friday.
"As important friends, Japan and Taiwan have supported each other every time we have been confronted with difficulties," Kamikawa told a press conference, adding that Tokyo will continue to support the island.
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2 more bodies found after Taiwan quake as 72-hour window nears end
HUALIEN, Taiwan - Two more bodies were discovered Friday in Taiwan in the aftermath of a deadly earthquake, as the government ratcheted up search and rescue efforts before the critical 72-hour window to find survivors ends the next morning.
The powerful quake, registering magnitude 7.2 according to Taiwan authorities and 7.7 according to the Japanese weather agency, struck the self-governed island Wednesday, leaving about 1,100 people injured and more than 600 people stranded in remote areas.
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Basketball: Keisei Tominaga wins U.S. college 3-point contest
NEW YORK - Keisei Tominaga put on a show for the crowd Thursday as he was crowned U.S. college basketball's three-point shooting champion.
The sharp-shooting Nebraska Cornhuskers guard was among an eight-man field for the contest held in the lead-up to the National Collegiate Athletic Association men's basketball tournament's Final Four in Phoenix, Arizona.
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Japan's Feb. household spending falls 0.5%, down for 12th month
TOKYO - Japan's household spending in February fell 0.5 percent from a year earlier, declining for the 12th consecutive month, as warm temperatures reduced utility bills, government data showed Friday.
Households of two or more people spent an average of 279,868 yen ($1,850), it said, with spending also dented by prolonged price hikes. Excluding the impact of one additional day in a leap year compared with the previous year, spending shed 2.7 percent.
Video: Japanese dace go upstream from Lake Biwa
