The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, U.S. leaders set to vow to boost defense ties amid China rise
WASHINGTON - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden are expected to agree Wednesday that their countries will bolster defense cooperation, apparently with China's increasing military assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region in mind.
At their summit held during Kishida's state visit to the United States, the first by a Japanese premier in nine years, the two leaders are also likely to confirm that they will join hands to boost supply chains for semiconductors and other crucial products to tackle Beijing's regional economic clout.
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Yen sinks to 152 range vs dollar, 1st time in 34 years
NEW YORK - The yen fell into the 152 range against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday in New York for the first time in nearly 34 years, as strong U.S. inflation data added to expectations that the Federal Reserve will delay interest rate cuts.
The U.S. consumer price index data for March, which rose 3.5 percent from a year earlier, was hotter than expected, raising questions about how early the Fed will bring down borrowing costs in the world's largest economy.
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South Korea opposition party likely to maintain majority: exit polls
SEOUL - South Korea's main opposition Democratic Party and its affiliated party are likely to win Wednesday's general election in a landslide and maintain a majority in the parliament, according to exit polls results.
The DP's projected victory and the probable loss by the minority ruling party would deal a major blow to the administration of President Yoon Suk Yeol, who still has three more years remaining in his five-year term.
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China's Xi tells ex-Taiwan leader both sides are inseparable
BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping maintained during his meeting with former Taiwanese leader Ma Ying-jeou in Beijing that people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are inseparable and praised him for opposing the island's independence, according to Chinese and Taiwanese media.
Their second talks, following a historic cross-strait summit in 2015 in Singapore, came ahead of the May 20 inauguration of Taiwan's President-elect Lai Ching-te, who China sees as an independence advocate.
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Hiroshima locals rap U.S. lawmaker over A-bomb remark
HIROSHIMA - A group in Hiroshima opposed to nuclear weapons on Wednesday criticized a U.S. lawmaker's remarks on the use of an atomic bomb as a metaphor describing a way to end the prolonged conflict in the Gaza Strip.
The Hiroshima Congress against A- and H-Bombs sent a letter to Republican congressman Tim Walberg and demanded he retract his March 25 remarks calling for an end to the conflict in the Palestinian enclave "like Nagasaki and Hiroshima" to "get it over quick."
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State dinner Biden to host for Kishida filled with Japanese elements
WASHINGTON - The state dinner U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill will host for Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his wife Yuko on Wednesday will be filled with colors evoking Japan and springtime, cherry blossoms, koi carp, fans, and feature menu items such as shiso leaf tempura and matcha ganache, the White House said.
After the full-course dinner, with a main of dry-aged ribeye beef in a sesame sabayon sauce, legendary singer Paul Simon will perform a selection of his iconic songs in the State Dining Room, it said on the eve of the event.
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Oscar-winning Miyazaki film leads China box office days after debut
BEIJING - Renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki's Oscar-winning fantasy animation film "The Boy and the Heron" has been leading the Chinese box office since debuting last Wednesday, so far raking in some 550 million yuan ($76 million), the official Xinhua News Agency said.
It became Miyazaki's highest-grossing release ever in China, surpassing his Oscar-winning "Spirited Away," which raked in 488 million yuan in 2019, according to Chinese movie data platform Maoyan. The film's Chinese theatrical receipts have outstripped its box office in Japan, the news agency said.
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Seven & i to list Ito-Yokado supermarket business in growth drive
TOKYO - Seven & i Holdings Co. said Wednesday it will spin off and list its Ito-Yokado supermarket operations as part of efforts to drive the struggling business's growth by leveraging external capital.
The spinoff will allow Seven & i to focus its resources on its cash cow Seven-Eleven business. The Japanese retail giant, which bought the U.S. convenience store chain Speedway LLC in 2021, is considering more acquisitions in North America, it said.
Video: Xiang Xiang, a Japan-born giant panda, adored in China through live-stream video
