The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, France to agree to start negotiations on new security pact
PARIS - Japan is planning to begin talks with France on a new security agreement to facilitate joint exercises and disaster relief operations, government sources said Wednesday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to discuss the pact, known as a reciprocal access agreement, during a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron in Paris on Thursday, according to the sources.
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China implements law to strengthen control on state secrets
BEIJING - China on Wednesday implemented a revised law on guarding state secrets that is expected to help Beijing further safeguard national security following the entry into force of an amended counterespionage law in July last year.
The legislation calls for the strengthening of the management of secrets at military facilities and stresses the guidance of the country's ruling Communist Party, allowing relevant officials to decide on their own what constitutes a state secret.
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2 more arrested in case of burned bodies found outside Tokyo
TOKYO - Two men were arrested Wednesday in connection with the burned bodies of a man and his wife that were found outside Tokyo in April, police said, bringing the total number of suspects to four.
Kang Kwang Ki, a 20-year-old South Korean national, and Kirato Wakayama, 20, were arrested on suspicion of damaging the corpses that were discovered on a riverside in Nasu, Tochigi Prefecture, on April 16.
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Japan PM Kishida leaves for trip to France, South America
TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida left for France on Wednesday, the first leg of a six-day overseas trip that is also set to take him to Brazil and Paraguay during Japan's early May Golden Week holiday period.
On Thursday, Kishida is scheduled to address the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris on various issues including climate change and international rules for generative artificial intelligence.
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S. Korea, Australia discuss defense tech collaboration through AUKUS
SYDNEY - South Korea and Australia discussed the possibility of the Asian nation partnering with the United States, Britain and Australia on defense technologies under the AUKUS security partnership, South Korean Defense Minister Shin Won Sik said Wednesday after talks with his Australian counterpart.
The trilateral partnership, formed in 2021, aims to deliver nuclear-powered submarines to Australia and boost defense technology cooperation, in an apparent effort to counter China's military expansion in the Asia Pacific region.
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Japanese opt for short, cheap overseas trips for Golden Week holidays
TOKYO - Japanese travelers are opting for shorter, cheaper and closer overseas trips during the country's Golden Week holidays as they feel the pinch from the yen weakening to 34-year lows and higher inflation abroad, according to a major travel firm.
The average unit price for an overseas trip fell 1.5 percent from last year's Golden Week to 204,900 yen ($1,300), while the average number of days traveled was down by 1.0 at 6.0 days, H.I.S. said.
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Japan's Itochu sets up new firm to take over scandal-hit Bigmotor
Itochu Corp. said Wednesday that it and an investment fund have set up a new company to take over main operations of used car dealership Bigmotor Co., which had been mired in an insurance fraud scandal.
The new company, Wecars Co., will run Bigmotor's core businesses such as used car sales and repair operations, with all management executives of the troubled company dismissed from their posts. Bigmotor was renamed Balm Co. and will focus on reparations.
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Related coverage:
Japan likely conducted forex intervention worth around 5 tril. yen
TOKYO - Japan likely spent some 5 trillion yen ($32 billion) on Monday in currency market intervention, data by its central bank and market sources showed Tuesday, in the clearest evidence yet of the nation's attempt to slow the yen's rapid fall.
The government has not confirmed that it intervened after the yen on Monday tumbled versus the U.S. dollar beyond the 160 line, a 34-year low, and then jumped to the 154 zone in a short span of time.
Video: The only tramway system in the country ends service in Hiroshima Prefecture
