TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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GSDF officer arrested over alleged entry into Chinese Embassy in Tokyo
TOKYO - A 23-year-old second lieutenant in Japan's Ground Self-Defense Force was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of unlawfully entering the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo earlier in the day, police said.
Kodai Murata, a member of the GSDF's Camp Ebino in Miyazaki Prefecture, was initially detained by embassy staff. He is believed to have been carrying a knife found near the scene, but no one was injured, the Metropolitan Police Department said.
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Japan to start release of state oil reserve Thurs. to ease Iran impact
TOKYO - The Japanese government said it will start releasing 30 days' worth of state-held oil from Thursday to cushion the impact on the economy as concerns over supply mount and oil prices soar amid the ongoing U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
On Tuesday, the industry ministry announced that the government plans to sell a total of about 8.5 million kiloliters of oil from 11 storage bases across the country, following the private sector's release of 15 days' worth of oil stockpiles last week.
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Japan 2025 gender pay gap smallest on record, managerial split persists
TOKYO - Japan's gender pay gap in 2025 fell to its lowest level since comparable data became available in 1976, but a monthly difference of 87,500 yen ($550) remained, reflecting the continued underrepresentation of women in managerial posts, official data showed Tuesday.
On an index with men set at 100, average monthly wages for women stood at 76.6, up 0.8 point from the previous year and the smallest disparity in roughly 50 years, according to the survey on wage structure compiled by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
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Suzuki to spend 102 bil. rupees to build new plant in India
TOKYO - Suzuki Motor Corp. said Tuesday it will spend 101.9 billion rupees ($1 billion) to build a new plant in India to meet booming auto demand and establish an export base.
The new plant in Sanand in the western Indian state of Gujarat will begin operations by 2029 with an annual production capacity of 250,000 vehicles.
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Japan downgrades China to merely important neighbor: policy report draft
TOKYO - This year's Diplomatic Bluebook, to be released by Japan's Foreign Ministry, will describe China as "an important neighboring country," instead of "one of the most important bilateral relations," the phrase used until last year, a draft of the annual report showed Tuesday.
The wording change appears to reflect the current state of Tokyo-Beijing relations, which have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's remarks last November suggested that an attack on Taiwan could trigger a response from the Self-Defense Forces.
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China pressured students not to attend joint event with Japan
BEIJING - Chinese universities pressured students into not attending a joint coming-of-age ceremony with Japanese students held last weekend at the Japanese Embassy in Beijing, some participants said Tuesday.
Ties between the two Asian neighbors remain strained following Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's parliamentary remarks last November on a Taiwan contingency.
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Japan's Motegi to attend G7 meeting of foreign ministers
TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Tuesday he will attend a two-day meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers later this week in France amid heightened geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
The main topics of the meeting from Thursday are likely to be the U.S.-Israel conflict with Iran and the Russia-Ukraine war. Motegi is expected to reiterate Japan's position of condemning Iran's attacks on Gulf states, according to the Foreign Ministry.
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Football: Injury-hit Ajax defender Tomiyasu pulls out of Japan squad
TOKYO - Ajax defender Takehiro Tomiyasu has withdrawn from the Japan squad due to injury ahead of their international friendlies away to Scotland and England, the Japan Football Association said Tuesday.
The 27-year-old former Arsenal player was named among manager Hajime Moriyasu's Samurai Blue squad on last Thursday for the first time in a year and nine months ahead of the two matches against their fellow World Cup qualifiers.
VIDEO: Japan to start releasing state oil reserve
