Kyodo News Digest: Sept. 14, 2024
Photo taken from a Kyodo News helicopter on Sept. 12, 2024, shows the Great Ring, a gigantic wooden structure symbolizing the site of the 2025 World Exposition on an artificial island in the western Japan city of Osaka. The wooden part of the ring, about 2 kilometers in circumference, was completed in August, with the rest of the structure planned to be completed in February 2025 ahead of the start in April 2025 of the six-month world event. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM candidates eye ties with like-minded nations amid China rise
TOKYO – Candidates in Japan’s ruling party leadership election on Saturday underlined the importance of bolstering ties with like-minded partners in Asia and beyond to cope with the rise of an assertive China and provocative North Korea.
To resolve outstanding issues, Shinjiro Koizumi, seen as one of the leading contenders in media polls, said he will pursue direct talks with his Chinese and North Korean counterparts if he becomes premier.
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Biden decision on U.S. Steel buyout unlikely before election: report
WASHINGTON – U.S. President Joe Biden is unlikely to make a decision before the Nov. 5 presidential election on blocking Nippon Steel Corp.’s plan to acquire United States Steel Corp., The Washington Post reported Friday.
The report came after the daily and other outlets said last week that the White House was set to take action to stymie the deal. The controversial takeover plan has drawn opposition from Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, as well as former President Donald Trump, her Republican rival in the race.
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Court grants Japan nationality to Afghan refugees’ child in rare move
NAGOYA – A high court has granted permission for a Japan-born baby daughter of Afghan refugees to be given Japanese nationality, rescinding a rejection by a family court, with their lawyer hailing it as a “breakthrough” move.
The decision by the Nagoya High Court, dated Wednesday, is likely to be the first for a child of Afghan parents to be allowed to create a new family registry in Japan, lawyer Yasuyuki Nagai said.
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Japan travel industry calls for offering free passports to 18-yr-olds
TOKYO – The Japanese government should offer free passports to 18-year-olds who have legally become adults to motivate more young people to travel abroad, the head of a travel industry group said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
Citing that just around 17 percent of Japanese citizens had a passport as of 2023, Hiroyuki Takahashi, chairman of the Japan Association of Travel Agents, expressed concern that “opportunities for youth to travel abroad have been greatly reduced.”
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Typhoon Bebinca approaches southwestern Japan islands
TOKYO – Typhoon Bebinca was expected to near Japan’s southwestern island region of Amami on Saturday evening, the weather agency said, warning of strong winds, landslides, flooding and high tides.
The season’s 13th typhoon could also bring violent winds and rough seas to the country’s southern island prefecture of Okinawa, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
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60% of Japan prefectures have no network for dialysis in emergency
TOKYO – More than 60 percent of Japan’s 47 prefectures said they had not established plans to work with neighboring prefectures for dialysis patients in the event of a large-scale disaster, a recent survey by Kyodo News found.
The results, underscoring the disparity in preparations, came after a weeklong advisory was issued last month over a potential megaquake in the Nankai Trough, which runs along the Pacific coast. Concerns abound that local dialysis facilities would not be able to fulfill demand if an emergency were to strike.
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Ostrich endeavor ensuring Yoshinoya can meet demand for meat
TOKYO – Major Japanese fast-food chain operator Yoshinoya Holdings Co. is hoping the introduction of ostrich meat will help it overcome shortages that have affected the availability of its popular beef bowls.
In late August, it made some 60,000 servings of ostrich meat rice bowls available at around 400 outlets in Japan at 1,683 yen ($12) each, making the flightless bird its fourth meat option with supplies of beef, pork and chicken coming under pressure.
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Tennis: Kei Nishikori helps Japan lead Colombia 2-0 at Davis Cup
TOKYO – Kei Nishikori won the second match as Japan took a 2-0 lead over Colombia on Day 1 of their best-of-five Davis Cup tennis World Group I tie Saturday.
The former world No. 4 defeated Nicolas Mejia 6-4, 6-4 after Yoshihito Nishioka’s opening 6-2, 6-4 victory over Adria Soriano Barrera on a hot day at Ariake Colosseum in Tokyo.
Video: Nagoya High Court demands Gifu prefectural police headquarters to delete the residents’ private information that was taken without consent
