The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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LDP heavyweight Hosoda dies month after quitting as house speaker
TOKYO - Former Japanese House of Representatives Speaker Hiroyuki Hosoda died Friday at age 79, his office said, less than a month after he left the post due to health reasons while insisting on running in the next general election.
Hosoda, who became lower house chief in November 2021, died at a hospital in Tokyo, amid criticism that he did not sufficiently explain his ties with a dubious religious group and sexual harassment allegations. The exact cause of death is not immediately known.
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Mexico among nations mulling withdrawal from 2025 World Expo in Osaka
TOKYO - Mexico is among a number of countries considering withdrawing from the 2025 World Exposition in Osaka, with the Latin American nation citing potential difficulties in securing the necessary funds, a source familiar with the matter said Friday.
The latest development comes as the building of pavilions by overseas participants has been slower than anticipated amid rising construction costs, casting a shadow over the global event in western Japan.
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Japan OKs 13.2 tril. yen extra budget for FY 2023 to fight inflation
TOKYO - The Cabinet approved Friday an extra budget plan of 13.20 trillion yen ($87 billion) for fiscal 2023 ending March to fund a new economic package designed to mitigate the burden of rising prices on households and navigate the economy through the cost-of-living crisis.
Of the total, 8.88 trillion yen will be secured by issuing new government bonds, adding to a pile of state debt already amounting to more than twice the size of the economy. The government aims to have the budget plan approved by parliament before the end of November.
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Israel to allow daily 4-hour combat pauses to evacuate Gaza civilians
WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM - Israel will allow daily four-hour humanitarian pauses for civilians to flee from the north of the Gaza Strip to the south, the U.S. government has said.
Israel's military has been intensifying its ground invasion of Gaza as part of its attempt to root out the Palestinian militant group Hamas after it committed a deadly cross-border attack on Oct. 7, in which hundreds of civilians were taken as hostages.
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Japan PM, new U.S. military chief vow to step up security cooperation
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and the top U.S. uniformed officer agreed Friday to step up cooperation to address security threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea.
During a meeting in Tokyo, Kishida and Gen. Charles Brown, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who took office in October, exchanged views on how to tackle "China's unilateral change of status quo by force and its attempts," the Japanese government said.
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Takarazuka theater actress' suicide due to overwork, bullying: lawyer
TOKYO - The recent suicide of an actress from Japan's all-female musical theater company Takarazuka Revue was due to overworking and bullying by senior members that "compromised her mental and physical health," her family's lawyer said Friday.
Hiroshi Kawahito, a lawyer representing the bereaved family of the 25-year-old actress, said at a press conference in Tokyo that they are demanding an apology and compensation from the company, highlighting the "severity of the loss of a promising young woman's life."
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Japan to provide 10 bil. yen to support ASEAN-linked research center
TOKYO - Japan plans to provide around 10 billion yen ($66 million) to an ASEAN-related research institution, sponsored by Tokyo, in a bid to expand regional cooperation, a government source said Friday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is expected to announce the donation to the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia, or ERIA, at a special summit between Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in December in Tokyo, the source said.
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Baseball: Shohei Ohtani wins 2nd Silver Slugger as AL's best DH
LOS ANGELES - Two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani received his second Silver Slugger Award on Thursday when he was named the American League's best offensive player at designated hitter.
The awards, which are voted on by MLB managers and coaches, are given to the top offensive player at each position in the AL and the National League.
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Video: Snow crab fishing season in Japan
