TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Yen surges in New York amid expectations for BOJ rate hike in Sept.
NEW YORK - The Japanese yen briefly surged over 3 yen against the U.S. dollar from the previous day's level in New York trading on Thursday, as expectations that the Bank of Japan will raise interest rates in mid-September prompted buying.
Many market participants said they believe that the Japanese government did not intervene in the foreign exchange market during trading in New York, as speculation that the interest rate differential between Japan and the United States will narrow soon.
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Japan remains on high alert over forex moves: top currency diplomat
TOKYO - Japan remains on high alert over foreign exchange movements, its top currency diplomat Atsushi Mimura said Thursday, following the yen's sharp rise against the U.S. dollar in the day's trading.
"I'm neither reassured nor satisfied" with the yen's current levels in the currency market, the vice finance minister for international affairs told reporters, adding, "I think we need to stay on high alert."
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Fire erupts at quake-hit Kumamoto paper mill, later extinguished
KUMAMOTO, Japan - A fire broke out Thursday at a plant damaged in the magnitude-7.1 earthquake that struck Kumamoto Prefecture in late July and was extinguished about six and a half hours later, local authorities said.
Police said all 10 workers at the site evacuated safely and no injuries were reported at Nippon Paper Industries Co.'s mill, where three chimneys were hit by the quake, including an 80-meter-high one that snapped in the middle, killing nine workers.
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Japanese scientist posthumously wins Ig Nobel prize for nose-blowing study
ZURICH - The late Japanese researcher Tokuji Unno won this year's Ig Nobel Prize in medicine on Thursday for his study on how to blow one's nose.
The achievement, recognized at a ceremony in Zurich, marks the 20th consecutive year in which at least one Japanese national has been among the winners selected by the Annals of Improbable Research, a science humor magazine that has given out the annual awards since 1991, parodying the prestigious Nobel prizes.
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Japan's household spending in July drops 3.6% on year
TOKYO - Japan's household spending in July fell a real 3.6 percent from a year earlier, government data showed Friday.
Households of two or more people spent an average of 301,245 yen ($1,930), the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications said.
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Ex-PM Aso likely to remain ruling LDP's vice president in execs reshuffle
TOKYO - Former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso is likely to stay on as vice president of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in its leadership reshuffle expected later this month, government sources said Thursday.
The government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, who also heads the LDP, and the ruling coalition led by her party are also preparing to convene an extraordinary parliamentary session early next month, according to the sources.
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Japan to nominate Hikone Castle for 2028 World Heritage listing
TOKYO - The Japanese council for cultural affairs on Thursday selected Hikone Castle, a national treasure, as a candidate for nomination for the 2028 UNESCO World Heritage List.
The government plans to submit to the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization by Feb. 1 next year the nomination dossier for the castle, constructed by the Ii clan in the 17th century near Lake Biwa in modern-day Shiga Prefecture, western Japan.
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Japan to dispatch team of experts to flood-hit Nepal
TOKYO - Japan will dispatch a team of experts to Nepal to assist work by local authorities to identify bodies recovered after massive flooding and landslides near the country's border with China, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The seven-member team will arrive in Nepal on Friday. More than 1,200 people have been killed and around 5,500 remain missing following the Aug. 26 disaster, with five Japanese nationals among those unaccounted for, according to the ministry.
