The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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People aged 80 and over top 10% of Japan's population for 1st time
TOKYO - People aged 80 and over topped 10 percent of Japan's population for the first time, government data showed Sunday, as the country with the world's highest proportion of elderly people continues to grapple with a rapidly aging society.
The number of people in the age bracket swelled by 270,000 from the previous year to 10.1 percent of Japan's total population of around 124.6 million, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said ahead of Monday's Respect for the Aged Day.
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China steps up scrutiny of Japanese after Fukushima water decision
TOKYO - China has been increasing its surveillance of Japanese nationals following Tokyo's decision to release treated radioactive water from the crippled Fukushima nuclear power plant, sources close to the matter said Sunday.
Beijing has investigated the backgrounds of individuals involved in negotiations over the water discharge and a revised counterespionage law took effect in July, broadening the scope of what constitutes spying under Chinese law.
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Japan mulls legislating "security clearance" system in 2024
TOKYO - Japan is looking to legislate a "security clearance" system, which grants some individuals special access to classified government data, in 2024 to prevent critical information from leaking to overseas entities, a government source said Saturday.
The move comes as "dual-use" technology, in which cutting-edge innovation developed by private businesses can be used for military purposes, has been expanded. The plan is expected to be included in the country's revised economic security bill next year.
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Tokyo's Asakusa Samba Carnival returns after 4-year COVID hiatus
TOKYO - The Asakusa Samba Carnival, a late-summer Tokyo highlight, returned Sunday following a four-year hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with sounds of passionate Brazilian music and explosive percussion filling a street in downtown Asakusa, drawing 300,000 spectators.
More than 2,500 people in 16 samba teams, including many dressed in colorful costumes, danced and sang while bands played Brazilian music as they paraded Asakusa's Kaminarimon Street, passing a landmark gate that leads to the popular Sensoji Temple.
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International team captures footage of sunken Japan WWII aircraft carrier
LOS ANGELES - An international research team of experts from Japan and the United States said Friday that it has captured footage of an Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier sunk during the 1942 Battle of Midway in World War II.
The released footage revealed details such as an imperial chrysanthemum crest on the bow and the presence of machine guns on the ship. The team noted that this investigation of the "Akagi" through such imagery is the first of its kind.
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Baseball: Ohtani done for season, moved to injured list
ANAHEIM, California - Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani will miss the remainder of the MLB season after being placed on the injured list, the club said Saturday.
Ohtani had been held out of his 11th straight game with a right oblique injury and his locker was cleaned out Friday.
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North Korea's Kim, Russian defense chief discuss deeper defense ties
TOKYO - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un discussed "practical issues" related to the deepening of military cooperation with Russia when meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Vladivostok, North Korean state media reported Sunday.
The remarks came after Shoigu hosted a luncheon to welcome Kim, who visited a Russian Pacific fleet frigate in the country's Far East on Saturday. Kim is in Russia at the invitation of President Vladimir Putin.
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86% of municipalities across Japan want more foreign workers: survey
TOKYO - A total of 86 percent of municipalities across Japan feel the need to increase foreign labor, a recent survey by Kyodo News showed, underscoring the serious shortage of workers in farming and other key sectors in the local regions as the country grapples with a declining population.
In the survey that covered Japan's 47 prefectures as well as cities and other municipalities, 84 percent of local government heads said they were either "strongly" concerned that their communities are at risk of disappearing, or "somewhat" afraid.
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Video: Float-pulling Danjiri festival held in Osaka's Kishiwada
