TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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M7.1 quake rocks southwestern Japan, several injured
TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 7.1 shook southwestern Japan on Tuesday, the weather agency said, with several people likely injured.
Tsunami advisories were issued for the Ariake and Yatsushiro seas after the quake and were later lifted for both seas.
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Many feared trapped in quake-hit Kumamoto shopping mall after explosion
TOKYO - Many people are feared trapped inside a shopping mall building after an explosion on Tuesday in quake-hit Kumamoto Prefecture, with some of them injured, fire and rescue authorities said.
The operator, Aeon Mall, had earlier said the explosion occurred after employees and customers had been evacuated from the commercial facility in Kashima following the M7.1 temblor that struck the southwestern Japan prefecture at 4:27 p.m.
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Nikkei ends over 10,000 points below record high on AI concerns
TOKYO - The Nikkei stock index plunged Tuesday, as a selloff in semiconductor-related shares on concerns over competition from China and the profitability of investments in artificial intelligence during the earnings season left the benchmark more than 10,000 points below the record closing high marked last month.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 2,566.27 points, or 3.95 percent, from Monday at 62,364.92. The broader Topix index finished 102.48 points, or 2.52 percent, lower at 3,963.59.
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Japan mulls GPS tracking of stalkers to prevent further harm
TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday compiled emergency countermeasures aimed to prevent further harm and protect victims from stalkers that would include having perpetrators wear GPS tracking devices.
The plans submitted to the ministerial meeting for measures against crime come as the government has been studying international cases where devices have been used to track sex offenders.
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INTERVIEW: BYD looks to crack Japan's minivehicle market with ultracompact EV
TOKYO - China's BYD Co., the world's leading electric vehicle maker, has begun a foray into one of the most competitive segments of the shrinking Japanese auto market, rolling out a new ultracompact EV to compete with engine-powered minivehicles.
The automaker on Tuesday launched the Racco, a boxy small EV with sliding rear doors on both sides that was developed specifically for Japanese customers with a base price of around 2.15 million yen ($13,000).
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KDDI launches AI app using content of Japanese media, publishers
TOKYO - Telecommunications giant KDDI Corp. said Tuesday it has launched an artificial intelligence-powered app with about 30 media and publishing partners that answers users' questions by citing sources from articles and other content.
The service aims to boost reliability and expertise, while partners can earn revenue based on usage frequency and gain touchpoints with readers who follow citations back to original works.
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Hitachi speeds cyber threat testing with Anthropic AI
TOKYO - Hitachi Ltd. said Tuesday it has used U.S. startup Anthropic's Claude Mythos Preview artificial intelligence model to assess cyber threats to its products and software, reducing the time needed to prepare simulated attack scenarios from several weeks to a few hours.
The Japanese industrial conglomerate said the model also improved vulnerability detection accuracy and substantially reduced the workload of developers.
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Kyoto school searched over fatal boat accident during Okinawa field trip
NAHA, Japan - The Japan Coast Guard has searched a private high school in Kyoto Prefecture on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death and injury following a fatal boat accident in Okinawa in March, investigative sources said Tuesday.
The family of a 17-year-old female student who died in the accident during a "peace education" school trip off the Henoko area in Nago filed a criminal complaint with the coast guard earlier this month against the principal of Doshisha International Junior and Senior High School and others.
