Kyodo News Digest: July 1, 2026

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Japan big manufacturers' confidence improves to 22 in June from 17: BOJ

TOKYO - Business confidence among major Japanese manufacturers improved to 22 in June from 17 three months earlier, the Bank of Japan's Tankan survey showed Wednesday.

The sentiment index measuring confidence among companies such as those in the auto and electronics sectors was higher than the average market forecast of 16 in a Kyodo News tally.

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Trump calls U.S. top court upholding birthright citizenship a win for China

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump called China a winner Tuesday after the Supreme Court upheld birthright citizenship, dealing a major blow to his push to restrict who counts as an American.

"I would like to congratulate President Xi (Jinping), and the Great Country of China, on their massive Birthright Citizenship WIN," Trump wrote on social media.

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Mercosur decides to begin economic partnership talks with Japan

SAO PAULO - Leaders of the South American trading bloc known as Mercosur decided Tuesday to start negotiations on an economic partnership with Japan.

If realized, such a trade agreement would be among the largest for the East Asian economy, following the trans-Pacific free trade pact and an economic partnership with the European Union.

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China implements ethnic unity law, extraterritorial reach raises fears

BEIJING - China on Wednesday implemented a law promoting "ethnic unity" that critics fear will further assimilation policies targeting ethnic minorities and hold overseas organizations and individuals legally accountable for creating divisions among the majority Han Chinese and the country's 55 ethnic minority groups.

The Ethnic Unity and Progress Promotion Law, adopted by China's largely rubber-stamp parliament in March, also aims to advance efforts toward unification between mainland China and Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.

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Britain vows to invest $11 bil. in fighter project involving Japan, Italy

LONDON - The British government will invest 8.6 billion pounds ($11 billion) over the next four years in the next-generation fighter jet jointly being developed with Japan and Italy, Prime Minister Keir Starmer said Tuesday.

The three countries aim to put into service in 2035 their first aircraft developed under the Global Combat Air Program. It is expected to feature stealth technology.

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Sales of rice from 2025 harvest to Japan wholesalers hit record low

TOKYO - Agricultural cooperatives and other groups in Japan that collect rice from farmers sold a record-low 1.32 million tons of the grain from the 2025 harvest to wholesalers as of the end of May, down about 17 percent from a year earlier, the farm ministry said Tuesday.

The decline in rice sales through the conventional distribution channel, which accounted for just under half of the 2025 harvest collected, comes as demand has shifted to cheaper government-released stockpiled rice as well as imported rice.

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Toyota, U.S. startup join hands to manufacture electric "flying car"

NEW YORK - Toyota Motor Corp. said Tuesday it has agreed with U.S. "flying car" startup Joby Aviation Inc. to create a joint venture to manufacture Joby-developed electric aircraft.

The alliance between the two companies will "initially focus on establishing the groundwork for commercial production," while also supporting the expansion of Joby's production capacity to meet the anticipated growing demand for similar aircraft, the Japanese automaker said.

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American swims across Japan strait, for historic 7 channels, summits

AOMORI, Japan - An American endurance athlete successfully completed a 40-kilometer swim Tuesday between Japan's two largest islands of Honshu and Hokkaido, achieving the feat of crossing seven difficult open water channels in the world, a support group said.

After swimming across the Tsugaru Strait, which separates Japan's main island from Hokkaido in the country's far north, in 11 hours, 43 minutes and 35 seconds, Rob Lea, 45, became the world's first person to complete the "Double Seven" challenge -- seven channels and summits across seven continents, according to the group.