The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, South Korea agree to expand joint search-and-rescue drills
SEOUL - Japan and South Korea agreed Sunday to expand joint maritime search-and-rescue exercises and strengthen communication as the two U.S. allies continue to deepen defense cooperation amid their improving ties.
Meeting in Seoul, Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi and his South Korean counterpart Ahn Gyu Back welcomed the resumption earlier this month of humanitarian search-and-rescue drills between the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and the South Korean Navy, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.
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INTERVIEW: Son of Myanmar's Aung San Suu Kyi demands proof of life from military gov't
LONDON - The younger son of Myanmar's imprisoned pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is calling for the country's military-led government to provide proof that she is alive, after it claimed in April that her sentence was commuted to around 17 years and that she had been moved to house arrest.
In an interview this week in London, where he resides, Kim Aris said he believes his octogenarian mother has not been moved to house arrest and is still in prison in the capital Naypyitaw, saying there hasn't been "any evidence" of a transfer.
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A year after losing pandas, western Japan town seeks to rebuild tourism
WAKAYAMA, Japan - A year after bidding goodbye to its much-loved giant pandas, the western Japanese town of Shirahama is looking for new ways to lure back the crowds that the iconic bears once drew from across the country.
The four female pandas -- Rauhin and her offspring, Yuihin, Saihin and Fuhin -- left the Adventure World theme park in the Wakayama Prefecture town on June 28, 2025, for China, under the terms of a joint breeding research program that began in 1994.
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"Japanese first" party cozies up to ruling LDP in bid for policy wins
TOKYO - Japan's ultraconservative Sanseito party is taking a more cooperative stance toward the ruling coalition, helping to pass bills, with the small opposition force apparently hoping to boost its policy credentials before local elections next spring.
With its "Japanese first" mantra that tapped into anxieties over the country's growing foreign population, Sanseito came to greater prominence in the 2025 House of Councillors election with a strong showing owing partly to voters disaffected with the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, then led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's predecessor, Shigeru Ishiba.
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Japan mulls expanding gov't bonds for individuals
TOKYO - Japan's Finance Ministry is considering expanding its lineup of government bonds available to individual investors, with experts pushing for new products such as inflation-linked bonds amid rising prices, its officials say.
Bond purchases by individual investors have been soaring as the Bank of Japan moves to raise interest rates. The ministry is also eager to diversify buyers of its debt given that the BOJ is reducing bond purchases as part of its monetary normalization following a decade of unorthodox easing.
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Japanese singer, actor Miwa dies at 91
TOKYO - Japanese singer and actor Akihiro Miwa, known for his iconic presence as a drag queen in the Japanese entertainment industry, has died of old age, his talent agency said Sunday. He was 91.
A native of Nagasaki, Miwa, whose real name is Akihiro Maruyama, first rose to popularity as a chanson singer at a club in Tokyo.
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Olympics: IOC member expresses hope for Japan to host future Winter Games
LAUSANNE, Switzerland - The head of the International Olympic Committee's Future Host Commission has expressed hope that Japan will host a future Winter Games, saying it would be a "great pleasure."
Karl Stoss, who chairs the IOC's Future Host Commission for the Olympic Winter Games, also told Kyodo News in an interview on Thursday that there would be "absolutely no" problem with the Games being held at multiple locations in the country.
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Baseball: Takahashi extends winning streak to 10 as Tigers beat Carp
HIROSHIMA - Haruto Takahashi extended his winning streak of the season to 10 as the reigning Central League champion Hanshin Tigers beat the Hiroshima Carp 12-3 to even a rain-shortened two-game series on Sunday.
Takahashi (10-0) allowed a run-scoring single to Carp catcher Tomoki Ishihara in the fourth inning, giving Hiroshima a 3-2 lead at Mazda Stadium.
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Video: Japan trains ahead of World Cup match with Brazil
