Kyodo News Digest: Feb. 17, 2025
New sumo grand champion Hoshoryu waves to the crowd during a parade held in Kashiwa near Tokyo on Feb. 16, 2025, to celebrate his promotion to the sport’s highest rank of yokozuna. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan’s GDP grows annualized real 2.8% in Oct.-Dec., outlook murky
TOKYO – Japan’s economy grew an annualized real 2.8 percent in the October-December period of 2024, marking the third straight quarter of expansion on robust corporate spending, but lackluster private consumption underscored the protracted effects of inflation, government data showed Monday.
Nominal gross domestic product, which shows the size of the economy in current prices, totaled 609.29 trillion yen ($4.01 trillion), surpassing the 600 trillion yen mark for the first time on a calendar year basis, according to the Cabinet Office.
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Father of woman abducted by N. Korea dies at 96 without reunion
KOBE – Akihiro Arimoto, the father of a Japanese woman abducted by North Korea in 1983, has died aged 96 without seeing his daughter again, his family said Monday.
Arimoto’s daughter Keiko was taken to North Korea at age 23 after traveling to study in London. His death early Saturday due to natural causes comes with little progress on the return of Japanese nationals who were abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.
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China denounces Canadian warship’s passage through Taiwan Strait
BEIJING – The Chinese military denounced Monday the passage of a Canadian frigate through the Taiwan Strait the previous day, saying it “deliberately stirred up trouble and undermined peace and stability” in the waterway that separates self-ruled Taiwan from mainland China.
The military’s Eastern Theater Command, which covers the Taiwan Strait, said it effectively dealt with the transit of the Halifax-class frigate HMCS Ottawa by deploying naval and air forces to monitor it.
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At least 176 harassment cases found at Japan fire stations in FY 2023
MIYAZAKI, Japan – At least 176 cases of physical assault, sexual harassment and other forms of misconduct were reported in workplaces at fire departments and stations across Japan in fiscal 2023, the first-ever study on such matters showed Sunday.
The distinct hierarchical structure within the establishment is believed to have contributed to the problem, with the government’s study finding that 206 people, including senior officials, received disciplinary action. An analyst called it the “tip of the iceberg.”
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Judo: Olympic silver medalist Sanshiro Murao among Japanese winners in Baku
TOKYO – Paris Olympic silver medalist Sanshiro Murao was victorious in the men’s 90-kilogram division Sunday as Japanese judoka concluded the Baku Grand Slam with four golds on the final day of competition.
The 24-year-old Murao took a big step toward representing Japan at this year’s world championships with his strong performance in the Azerbaijan capital.
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Families of abductees slam Ishiba’s plan for North Korea liaison offices
TOKYO – The families and supporters of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea decades ago reaffirmed Sunday their opposition to Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba’s plan to set up liaison offices in Tokyo and Pyongyang to resolve the long-standing issue.
The group held a meeting in Tokyo to formulate a policy for their future activities, claiming Ishiba’s proposal would “only serve to buy time” amid growing concern that the aging and declining health of family members may hinder their reunion with abducted relatives.
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50.1% of Japanese give high marks to Ishiba-Trump summit: Kyodo poll
TOKYO – A Kyodo News survey showed Sunday that 50.1 percent of respondents gave high marks to the first in-person summit between Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba and U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington earlier this month.
The approval rating for Ishiba’s Cabinet rose to 39.6 percent from 35.7 percent in January, while 81.3 percent viewed the government’s recent decision to release stockpiled rice to curb price hikes as “overdue,” the weekend telephone poll found.
Video: New sumo grand champion Hoshoryu’s celebration parade
