The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM vows to replace ministers Dec. 14 over funds scandals
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday pledged to replace several ministers embroiled in a political fundraising scandal on the following day, shortly after an extraordinary parliamentary session wrapped up.
His ruling Liberal Democratic Party has recently been under heavy scrutiny amid accusations that its largest faction failed to declare hundreds of millions of yen in fundraising party revenue in political funding reports, possibly creating secret funds.
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Eisai-Biogen Alzheimer's therapy to cost 2.98 million yen per year
TOKYO - A single course of treatment with an Alzheimer's drug developed by Japanese company Eisai Co. and U.S. firm Biogen Inc. will cost around 2.98 million yen ($20,500) per year in Japan and will be largely covered by public health insurance, a health ministry body said Wednesday.
The highly-anticipated drug, lecanemab, will be launched in Japan on Dec. 20, the companies said. The drug won approval in September as the country's first that can slow the progression of the debilitating neurodegenerative disease's symptoms by removing a protein believed to be the cause.
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Japan confirms 1st death from mpox in country
TOKYO - Japan's health ministry said Wednesday that a man in his 30s who was living in Saitama Prefecture near Tokyo has died of mpox, the first such death in the country.
The man suffered from immunodeficiency, the ministry said, months after the World Health Organization declared in May that mpox is no longer a public health emergency of international concern due to a decline in new infection cases.
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Rugby: Eddie Jones to return as Japan head coach
TOKYO - Eddie Jones has been rehired as Japan rugby national team head coach to succeed departed Jamie Joseph, the Japan Rugby Football Union announced Wednesday.
The 63-year-old Australian, who will hold a press conference Thursday, will take up his post on Jan. 1 and run the team through the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
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Japan vows $3 million to provide education for refugees
GENEVA - Japan will offer around $3 million to a global fund providing education for refugees, as Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa on Wednesday pledged more support for the displaced amid ongoing wars in Ukraine and the Palestinian territory of the Gaza Strip.
"We cannot significantly improve the situation by merely providing food, water, and shelter to vulnerable people. We must adopt a more future-oriented, medium- to long-term approach," Kamikawa said at the Global Refugee Forum in Geneva.
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ADB upgrades 2023 growth forecast for Asia-Pacific to 4.9%
MANILA - The Asian Development Bank on Wednesday revised upward its 2023 growth forecast for developing economies in Asia and the Pacific to 4.9 percent from its September projection of 4.7 percent, citing higher-than-expected growth in China and India.
The Manila-based lender maintained its projection of a 4.8 percent growth for the region next year on expectations that continued robust domestic demand and services will support growth.
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Panel urges Japan to prep for digital yen that coexists with cash
TOKYO - Japan should make preparations to issue a digital yen "without delay" and treat it as legal tender that would coexist with cash, a government panel of experts said Wednesday.
The nine-member panel under the Finance Ministry said any central bank digital currency, or a digital yen, should be usable "by anyone, anytime and anywhere" and compatible with other private companies' digital payment services.
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115-yr-old woman in western Japan becomes country's oldest person
KOBE - Tomiko Itooka, a 115-year-old woman in Ashiya, Hyogo Prefecture in western Japan, has become the oldest person in Japan following the recent death of the 116-year-old previous holder of the title, the health ministry said Wednesday.
Born on May 23, 1908, in Osaka, Itooka is the eldest of three siblings and belonged to a volleyball club during her student days, according to the city where she now resides.
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Thai PM urges Japan automakers to switch focus to EVs
BANGKOK - Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has warned Japanese automakers could be "left behind" unless they quickly transition to producing more electric vehicles, as rivals from China claim market share in the Southeast Asian country.
The businessman-turned-politician made the remark during an interview with Japanese media Tuesday ahead of his visit to Tokyo to attend a summit on Sunday between Japan and ASEAN members.
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Ex-SDF woman says high-profile sex assault case fight was not "waste"
TOKYO - A woman who was sexually assaulted while serving in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force said Wednesday that her fight to get justice was "not a waste," a day after a court convicted three former members for sexual indecency.
"I spent two years of my life fighting against it," Rina Gonoi, 24, said at a press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan in Tokyo. Though she said it would have been better if she had not gone through the painful experience in the first place, her remarks suggested she feels it was worth the effort.
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