The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
Less domestic travelers seen in Japan's Golden Week amid inflation
TOKYO - The number of domestic travelers decreased during this year's Golden Week holiday period as many residents of Japan refrained from traveling far from home amid rising prices, private sector data showed Saturday.
Based on an analysis of data collected in the vicinity of 60 major train stations across Japan, 53 locations saw the number of domestic travelers drop during the holiday period when compared with a year earlier. This coincided with a surge in accommodation fees due to an increase in inbound tourism backed by the weaker yen.
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Japan, U.S., EU to beef up countermeasures against counterfeit trade
TOKYO - Japan, the United States and the European Union are planning to reinforce countermeasures against the illicit trade in counterfeit products in cooperation with online marketplace operators, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
With the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development playing a central role in the move, the like-minded partners will cooperate with online marketplace operators such as Amazon.com Inc. and Rakuten Group Inc. and aim to formulate guidelines in 2025 or later to prevent fake brand goods from being traded online.
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Football: Marinos beat UAE's Al Ain 2-1 in ACL final 1st leg
YOKOHAMA - Yokohama F Marinos fought back from an early deficit to claim a 2-1 victory over visiting Al Ain in the opening leg of the Asian Champions League final on Saturday.
Harry Kewell's men will fly to the United Arab Emirates for the May 25 return leg in pole position for their club's maiden ACL title thanks to late goals from Asahi Uenaka and Kota Watanabe at International Stadium Yokohama.
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77% of Japan's COVID-19 oral drugs set to be destroyed: estimate
TOKYO - The Japanese government is set to destroy 77 percent of the COVID-19 oral medications it purchased during the novel coronavirus pandemic as they remain unused, an estimate based on government data showed Saturday.
Of the oral drugs secured for 5.6 million people, those for 4.3 million people remain unused. The drugmakers have already made the medications available to the public and the government can only provide them in the event of an emergency after the legal status of the disease was downgraded to the same category as seasonal flu in May last year, the health ministry said.
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Arrested man faces murder charge over burned bodies near Tokyo
TOKYO - A 25-year-old man was served with a fresh arrest warrant Saturday on suspicion of murder after being arrested last month in connection with the burned bodies of a married couple that were found on a riverbank north of Tokyo in April, police said.
Ryoken Hirayama is the first to face a murder charge among six people who have been arrested on suspicion of damaging the corpses of Ryutaro Takarajima, 55, and his wife Sachiko, 56.
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Triathlon: Morgan Pearson wins world c'ship series meet in Yokohama
YOKOHAMA - Morgan Pearson of the United States won the elite men's race at Saturday's World Triathlon Championship Series meet in Yokohama in 1 hour, 42 minutes, 5 seconds.
Australia's Matthew Hauser and Luke Willian finished second and third, respectively, in 1:42:12 and 1:42:20 in the race consisting of a 1.5-kilometer swim, a 40.05-kilometer bike ride and a 10-kilometer run on a course set up around Yamashita Park.
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Japan bullet trains host wrestling, dining events in new travel trend
TOKYO - Wrestlers face off in a shinkansen bullet train traveling from Tokyo to Nagoya in central Japan, with cheers erupting throughout the packed car as they exchange kicks and execute piledrivers.
This is just the tip of a new trend in post-pandemic travel experiences, where bullet trains are being transformed into lively entertainment venues, making the journey as fun as the destination.
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JR East briefly hit by system disruption due to cyberattack
TOKYO - East Japan Railway Co. said Friday it was temporarily hit by system disruptions with its Mobile Suica app and "Eki-net" online reservation system, with unusual traffic patterns pointing to a cyberattack.
The operator, known as JR East, said the issue was largely resolved more than four hours later, at around 10 p.m. Train operations were not affected.
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Football: Urawa see off Incheon 2-1 to win AFC Women's Club C'ship
SAITAMA, Japan - Urawa Reds Ladies lifted the AFC Women's Club Championship on Friday after coming from behind to beat South Korea's Incheon Hyundai Steel Red Angels 2-1 in the final.
Kiko Seike got on the end of a chipped pass to level in the 22nd minute before her striking partner Mei Shimada headed in what proved to be the winner off a corner four minutes later at Urawa Komaba Stadium in Saitama.
Video: A memorial service for giant panda Tan Tan is held at Oji Zoo in the western Japan city of Kobe
