The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japanese passport back among world's most powerful: survey
WASHINGTON - Japan has reclaimed its position among the countries with the world's most powerful passport, sharing top spot with five others based on the number of destinations its holders can access visa free, according to a recent survey by a consultancy firm.
Japan, Singapore, France, Germany, Italy and Spain lead the rankings with visa-free access to 194 out of 227 global destinations, according to the latest survey on passport power released by Henley & Partners Holdings Ltd. on Wednesday.
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Ukraine identifies missiles used by Russia as North Korean-made
KYIV - Ukraine has identified missiles that were fired into its eastern region by Russia earlier this month as North Korean-made, a Ukrainian official said Thursday, providing evidence of Pyongyang's military support for Moscow.
A research institute of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry collected and analyzed missile debris from a Russian bombardment of the city of Kharkiv on Jan. 2 and found it matches North Korea's KN-23 short-range ballistic missiles, according to the official.
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Building of temporary housing begins for central Japan quake victims
KANAZAWA, Japan - Local authorities on Friday began construction of temporary housing units for people whose homes were damaged by a powerful earthquake that struck central Japan on New Year's Day.
The Ishikawa prefectural government is building 115 makeshift houses across four locations in Wajima and Suzu, two cities hit hard by the magnitude-7.6 temblor, and is aiming to have them completed in a month.
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Football: Former Japan keeper Eiji Kawashima returns after 13 years abroad
IWATA, Japan - Eiji Kawashima, Japan's principal goalkeeper at three World Cups, will return to the J-League for the first time in 14 years to play for Jubilo Iwata this year, the first-division club said Friday.
The 40-year-old Kawashima made his World Cup debut in 2010 and was a member of Japan's 2022 squad but did not play. He was capped 95 times.
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Taiwan presidential candidates make last pitches before election
TAIPEI - Taiwan's presidential election candidates are making their last pitches to voters Friday on the eve of polls closely watched by the world as China continues to put pressure on the self-ruled democratic island amid rivalry with the United States.
Incumbent Vice President Lai Ching-te, the candidate of the ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, wraps up his campaign in New Taipei after having rallied in the capital Taipei and the southern city of Tainan.
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Japan's FSA punishes SBI Securities over stock price manipulation
TOKYO - Japan's Financial Services Agency on Friday slapped SBI Securities Co., the biggest online brokerage in the country, with a one-week partial suspension of its operations for alleged stock price manipulation.
SBI has solicited investors to place buy orders for shares in three companies in their initial public offerings, for which the broker served as a lead underwriter, in an attempt to increase the chances those shares would debut above their IPO prices, according to the agency.
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Japan logs record 1.93 tril. yen current account surplus in Nov.
TOKYO - Japan posted a record current account surplus of 1.93 trillion yen ($13.3 billion) in November, helped by a smaller trade deficit and a revival of inbound tourism, the Finance Ministry said Friday.
The current account surplus, one of the widest gauges of international trade, expanded 8.7 percent from a year earlier, marking the 10th straight month of black ink.
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Baseball: Soto breaks Ohtani's salary record for arbitration-eligible player: report
LOS ANGELES - Slugging outfielder Juan Soto's tenure with the New York Yankees is off to a lucrative start, breaking Shohei Ohtani's salary record for an arbitration-eligible player, The Associated Press reported Thursday.
Soto's new contract is said to be worth $31 million for 2024, a figure that would surpass Ohtani's $30 million deal for 2023 with the Los Angeles Angels.
Video: Devastation in Suzu, quake-hit Ishikawa Pref. city
