The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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BOJ keeps rates on hold amid caution over wages, Trump policies
TOKYO - The Bank of Japan left interest rates unchanged Thursday in a move widely expected by the market due to a lack of clarity over wage trends at home and caution over the outlook for the U.S. economy under incoming President Donald Trump.
The central bank decided to keep its key short-term rate on hold at around 0.25 percent at the end of a two-day policy meeting. The policy rate has been kept at that level for the three consecutive meetings.
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Japanese media titan Tsuneo Watanabe dies at 98
TOKYO - Tsuneo Watanabe, a media titan known for holding sway over Japanese politics through the country's influential daily newspaper, The Yomiuri Shimbun, died of pneumonia Thursday, his company said. He was 98.
Watanabe, a representative director and editor-in-chief of the daily's holding company, had close ties with powerful political figures such as Yasuhiro Nakasone, a prime minister in the 1980s who had deep bonds with then U.S. President Ronald Reagan. He was also president of the Yomiuri Giants, one of the most famous professional baseball clubs in Japan.
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Man arrested on suspicion of involvement in teen stabbing in Japan
FUKUOKA - A 43-year-old man was arrested Thursday on suspicion of involvement in the stabbing of two junior high school students, one of whom died, at a McDonald's restaurant in Fukuoka Prefecture, police said.
The man lives near the fast-food restaurant in the southwestern Japan city of Kitakyushu, where Saaya Nakashima, 15, was killed and a boy who attends the same school was seriously injured, police said, adding they are investigating the motive for the stabbing.
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Trump open to meeting with Japan PM Ishiba in mid-January
TOKYO - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump is willing to meet with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba in mid-January before his return to the White House, a Japanese government source said Thursday.
Japan is looking at the feasibility of such a meeting after it received the message from the Trump side, the source added.
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2 ex-Johnny's talent sue agency for $300 mil. in U.S. over sex abuse
TOKYO - Two former talent of the Japanese entertainment agency previously known as Johnny & Associates Inc. have filed a lawsuit in a U.S. court against the firm and its executives, seeking over $300 million in damages for alleged sexual abuse during their youth, a source close to the matter said Thursday.
The lawsuit filed in Clark County, Nevada, is believed to be the first by victims seeking compensation since the company publicly acknowledged in September last year that its founder, Johnny Kitagawa, who died in 2019, had sexually abused its performers.
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Sony ups stake in Japanese publisher Kadokawa in entertainment push
TOKYO - Japanese tech conglomerate Sony Group Corp. will increase its stake in major game and anime publisher Kadokawa Corp. to strengthen the strategic partnership and expand their entertainment businesses globally, the two companies said Thursday.
The companies said Sony will acquire 50 billion yen ($318 million) worth of new shares to be issued by Kadokawa in January to raise its stake to around 10 percent from the current 2 percent and become the largest shareholder in the publisher. Sony previously acquired shares in the company in February 2021.
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Japan, China hold expert talks after seafood import resumption deal
TOKYO - Japanese and Chinese experts have held talks over the release of treated radioactive wastewater from the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, Japan's government said Thursday, the first such meeting since an agreement on China's resumption of Japanese seafood imports.
The "expert dialogue" took place in Beijing on Wednesday "to exchange candid views on technical matters and issues of interest to both sides" regarding the water discharge into the ocean, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
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Mt. Fuji access fees to be raised as authorities address overcrowding
KOFU, Japan - Climbers using the most popular trail on Mt. Fuji are expected to be slugged with a doubled fee of 4,000 yen ($26) from next summer as the Yamanashi prefectural government seeks to tackle overcrowding, a source close to the matter said Thursday.
The prefectural government also plans to move forward the closing time of the entrance gate at the trail's 5th station by two hours to 2 p.m., to discourage overnight "bullet climbing," or trying to reach the summit of Japan's tallest mountain without resting.
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