The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Several more bodies from missing SDF chopper likely found: source
TOKYO - Crews searching for a Japan Self-Defense Forces helicopter that went missing with 10 personnel aboard off the southern prefecture of Okinawa last week have found what are believed to be several bodies, a government source said Friday.
The latest discoveries come after searchers on Thursday night located what appeared to be a body and a major part of the UH-60JA helicopter which disappeared from radar shortly after taking off from a base on Miyako Island on April 6 at 3:46 p.m.
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Gov't approves plan for Japan's 1st casino resort in Osaka
TOKYO - The government on Friday approved a plan to open what will be Japan's first casino resort in Osaka, marking a major advance in the nation's long-running saga over the introduction of so-called integrated resorts.
Under the plan put forward by the Osaka prefectural and city governments, the integrated resort, or IR, comprised of a large hotel, conference rooms and gambling areas, is expected to open on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay between the fall and winter of 2029.
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Most Korean plaintiffs in wartime labor case accept damages from fund
SEOUL - Most of the Korean plaintiffs who won lawsuits over alleged wartime forced labor during Japan's colonial rule have been awarded damages by a foundation backed by the South Korean government, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Payments were made to 10 family members of wartime laborers who have agreed to be compensated by the fund under a scheme devised by Seoul to settle the wartime labor issue and help accelerate efforts to improve ties with Japan.
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G-20 finance meeting ends with no statement, hampered by Ukraine war
WASHINGTON - Finance chiefs of the Group of 20 economies wrapped up a two-day meeting on Thursday but again failed to issue a joint statement apparently due to divisions over Russia's war in Ukraine, posing a threat to efforts to strengthen coordination amid slow growth, debt distress and banking concerns.
India, this year's G-20 chair, said the group discussed the current state of the world economy, how to strengthen the international financial architecture, and the deepening of multilateral cooperation in addressing debt issues.
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U.S. may seek to export hydrogen to Japan in decarbonization push
OTARU, Japan - U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm said Friday that Washington could export hydrogen to Japan as part of larger bilateral energy cooperation, including wind and nuclear power, as she feels "a sense of urgency" to speed up efforts to curb global warming.
Aboard the Japan-developed liquefied hydrogen carrier -- the world's first -- at a port near the northern Japan city of Sapporo, where the Group of Seven ministerial meeting on energy and climate kicks off from Saturday, Granholm said "it is important" to learn from Japan's delivery technology as the next-generation energy source is a "solution" toward global decarbonization.
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Japanese video game director, PM Kishida honored by Time magazine
NEW YORK - Major video game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were selected on Thursday among Time magazine's list of "100 Most Influential People of 2023," which annually categorizes people judged to have had the most impact that year.
Miyazaki directed the award-winning 2022 fantasy roleplaying game "Elden Ring," which was written in collaboration with U.S. author George R. R. Martin.
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Tibetan exile leader defends Dalai Lama over viral video
NEW DELHI - The president of the Tibetan government-in-exile on Thursday defended the Dalai Lama over a viral video clip of him asking a child to suck his tongue, saying he has been misinterpreted.
Penpa Tsering said at the New Delhi branch of the Foreign Correspondents Club of South Asia that the spiritual leader's compassion and love are beyond all the misunderstandings that the video has created.
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OPINION: China and Ukraine: Fateful key to Eurasia's future
WASHINGTON - Days before the Beijing Olympic opening ceremony last year, China's Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin inaugurated their "unlimited partnership." Three weeks later, the Olympics past, Putin's army invaded Ukraine.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, the victim of aggression, has naturally been scathing in his condemnation of Putin. Yet he has been pointedly open to dealing with Putin's "partner without limits," Xi Jinping.
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Video: Murakami's new novel hits bookstores in Japan
