TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Yen down to pre-intervention level of 160 per dollar after Fed chair speech
NEW YORK - The Japanese yen briefly fell below 160 per U.S. dollar on Friday in New York for the first time since Japan conducted coordinated yen-buying with the United States in late July.
The yen faced selling after a closely watched speech by Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh spurred speculation that the gap between interest rates in the two countries will widen.
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Japan comedy duo Sandwichman's Date takes break after stroke diagnosis
TOKYO - Mikio Date of Sandwichman, one of the most popular comedy duos in Japan, will take a break to focus on treatment after he was diagnosed with a cerebral infarction, his agency said Friday.
Date, 51, who won Japan's top double act comedy title at the M-1 Grand Prix in 2007 with his partner Takeshi Tomizawa, sought medical care after feeling unwell. But the agency said Date's condition is not serious, and he is currently receiving inpatient treatment.
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Japan defense officer fired after unauthorized entry into Chinese embassy
TOKYO - Japan's defense forces on Friday fired a 24-year-old officer who snuck onto the premises of the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo earlier this year and allegedly made threats.
Kodai Murata, a second lieutenant in the Ground Self-Defense Force stationed at Ebino Camp in Miyazaki Prefecture, entered the embassy compound carrying a knife on March 24, whereupon he handed embassy personnel a letter and read out its contents, according to the GSDF.
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Japan to provide emergency supplies to flood-hit Nepal
TOKYO - Japan will provide emergency relief supplies to Nepal following the recent devastating floods and mudslides, Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said Friday.
Through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, Japan will provide 1,810 blankets and 300 tents, among other supplies, in response to a request from the Nepalese government.
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3 students missing after being swept offshore in southwestern Japan
KAGOSHIMA, Japan - Three male students remain missing on Friday after being swept out to sea off a beach in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, with the local coast guard continuing the search for them.
The Kushikino Coast Guard Office said it received a report from the local fire department around 3:40 p.m. that four junior and senior high school students had been swept away at a beach in Ichikikushikino. One junior high school boy was rescued, and his condition is not life-threatening.
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CDPJ drops plan to take part in 3-way merger with Japan main opposition
TOKYO - The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan on Friday decided not to merge with the Komeito party into the Centrist Reform Alliance, following three-way talks on forming a joint front ahead of key local elections next year.
Resistance to the merger plan was strong within the CDPJ even as the opposition camp remained fractured following a sweeping victory by the ruling coalition led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi. The decision has cast further doubt on prospects for three-way cooperation.
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Japanese doll Licca-chan returns to U.S. after 40 yrs, adults targeted
TOKYO - Japan's long-selling popular dress-up doll Licca-chan has reentered the U.S. market for the first time in around 40 years, with the renewed push riding on adult demand for Japanese culture and character goods.
In toymaker Tomy Co.'s previous foray into the United States in the 1980s, the doll was sold under the name "Lisa" and marketed for children, but it was subsequently pulled from shelves after it failed to take hold.
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Underground missile shelter to be built near Tokyo Station
TOKYO - The Tokyo metropolitan government has unveiled a plan to use an underground facility near Tokyo Station as a shelter for residents and tourists in the event of a ballistic missile attack.
Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike told a press conference earlier this month that a survey will begin in the current fiscal year through March in preparation for revamping Yaesu Parking Lot, which is located about 2 to 11 meters underground.
