TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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BOJ says 2% inflation target generally achieved, maintains policy rate
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan said Friday that underlying inflation has "generally" reached its 2 percent target, nearly 14 years after the goal was set as part of efforts to end deflation.
The BOJ provided the assessment in its latest quarterly economic outlook report, released after a two-day policy meeting. As widely expected, the central bank left its benchmark interest rate unchanged at around 1.25 percent.
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Law to establish "second capital" to back up Tokyo goes into effect
TOKYO - Legislation to establish a "second capital" to serve as a backup for Tokyo's core functions and decentralize economic activity went into effect Friday, paving the way for eligible prefectures to apply for designation.
The law is a pillar of the coalition agreement signed a year ago by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's Liberal Democratic Party and its junior ally, the Osaka-based Japan Innovation Party, which aims to reorganize the western Japan city into a metropolis like Tokyo by introducing special wards.
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Japan gov't to use 1.1 tril. yen of reserves to finance gasoline subsidies
TOKYO - Japan's Cabinet decided Friday to allocate about 1.1 trillion yen ($7 billion) from the government's reserves to finance a subsidy program aimed at capping retail gasoline prices amid the conflict in the Middle East.
The decision came a day after Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi said the government will continue the subsidies for gasoline and other fuels, while gradually reducing them amid growing concern about the costly measure.
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N. Korea displays drones, rocket launchers as Kim seeks tech development
BEIJING - North Korea has conducted a firepower demonstration of various weapons systems including drones, cruise missiles and multiple rocket launchers at an exhibition on unmanned aerial technology, with leader Kim Jong Un calling for a rapid expansion of drone technology, state-run media said Friday.
At Thursday's event, Kim said it is "an indispensable option" to aim to seize "absolute superiority" in drone technology amid the "ever-changing patterns of modern warfare," the official Korean Central News Agency said.
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Japan Sept. industrial output up for 1st time in 3 months as autos rebound
TOKYO - Japan's industrial output in September rose 2.2 percent from the previous month, marking the first increase in three months, as auto production recovered from disruptions caused by a massive earthquake in July and typhoons, government data showed Friday.
The expansion followed a downwardly revised contraction of 2.4 percent in August. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry maintained its basic assessment of industrial production from the month before, saying it "fluctuates indecisively."
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5 rescued, 1 missing after fire on tugboat off Okinawa
NAHA, Japan - Five people were rescued but one remained missing after a fire broke out on a tugboat off Miyako Island in Okinawa Prefecture on Friday morning, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The Miyakojima Coast Guard Office received a report around 8:15 a.m. that the boat, which was heading for the Philippines, had caught fire in waters about 37 kilometers north of the Ikema Island lighthouse in Miyakojima.
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Mt. Fuji gets season's 1st snowcap
KOFU, Japan - Japan's iconic Mt. Fuji got its first snowcap of the season on Friday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said, with radar and other data being used instead of visual observations for the first time.
The confirmation came 28 days later than average and seven days later than last year, although the change in methods makes a direct comparison difficult.
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Wrestling: Kiyooka wins 53-kg world title, 1st in Olympic weight class
ASTANA - Japan's Moe Kiyooka prevailed in the women's 53-kilogram category at the wrestling world championships on Thursday, her second gold at the tournament after winning the non-Olympic 55 kg in 2024.
The 23-year-old, the younger sister of Paris Olympics men's freestyle 65-kg gold medalist Kotaro, dominated Ecuador's Lucia Yamileth Yepez Guzman with sharp tackles in her 6-0 final win in Astana.
