The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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South Korean investigators fail to detain Yoon in standoff with security
SEOUL - South Korean investigators suspended their attempt to detain President Yoon Suk Yeol on Friday over his brief declaration of martial law after an hours-long standoff with the presidential security service at the entrance to his residence.
"We tried to execute a detention warrant this morning, but it was deemed effectively impossible to proceed due to the ongoing standoff," a joint investigation team with the Corruption Investigation Office for High-ranking Officials said in a briefing with reporters, adding that future actions will be decided after a review.
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Nearly 80% of firms expect continued economic growth in Japan in 2025
TOKYO - Nearly 80 percent of major Japanese firms expect the domestic economy to continue growing in 2025, remaining optimistic on the progress of wage hikes and a recovery in consumer spending, a Kyodo News survey showed Friday.
In the survey of 114 companies conducted between late November and mid-December, 78 percent said they expect moderate growth, compared with 73 percent that had predicted expansion or moderate expansion a year earlier.
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Public interest in Osaka Expo remains low 100 days before opening
TOKYO - With 100 days to go before the opening of the World Exposition in Osaka, public interest in the event remains low, with less than one in four people saying they want to visit the site, according to a recent survey.
The latest survey, conducted in October by the Mitsubishi Research Institute on 3,000 people, showed that 24.0 percent of the respondents expressed interest in attending the event in western Japan, a decrease of 3.0 percentage points from the previous survey in April.
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Biden decides to block U.S. Steel sale to Nippon Steel: reports
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden has decided to block the $14.1 billion takeover of United States Steel Corp. by Japan's Nippon Steel Corp., U.S. media reported Friday.
The announcement is expected to be made as early as Friday, the reports said, citing unnamed officials and sources.
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A-bomb survivor Sasamori dies in California at 92: U.S. media
NEW YORK - Shigeko Sasamori, a survivor of the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attack on Hiroshima who underwent reconstructive surgery for her scars in the United States, died last month at her home in California, The New York Times has reported. She was 92.
Sasamori, one of the "Hiroshima Maidens" -- women who suffered disfiguring injuries from the attack and traveled to the United States for keloid treatment -- campaigned for peace and the abolition of nuclear weapons.
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Athletics: Aoyama Gakuin rewrites record, retains Hakone Ekiden crown
TOKYO - Aoyama Gakuin University retained its Tokyo-Hakone collegiate ekiden road relay title on Friday, breaking its own competition record from last year by 6 seconds to finish the two-day race in 10 hours, 41 minutes, 19 seconds.
Holding a 1:47 lead after coming first in Thursday's outward trip, Aoyama Gakuin never relinquished its advantage in the 109.6-kilometer return journey from the mountainous hot spring resort of Hakone in Kanagawa Prefecture to Tokyo's Otemachi business district, sealing its eighth win since its first triumph in 2015.
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Japan governors push to have hot spring culture recognized by UNESCO
TOKYO - A group of governors is aiming to have Japan's hot spring culture added to UNESCO's intangible heritage list in 2028, bringing recognition to the importance of the centuries-old practice of bathing in naturally heated water.
"I am convinced that the hot spring culture is equivalent" to the traditional making of sake and "shochu" distilled spirits, which was accepted onto the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization list in December, Tottori Gov. Shinji Hirai, leader of the group, said at the outset of an online meeting held the same month to discuss lobbying for hot springs to be added.
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Japan's "Doctor Yellow" track-testing shinkansen begins long goodbye
TOKYO - From January, Japan begins saying goodbye to the famous "Doctor Yellow" special bullet trains that have diagnosed faults on the country's high-speed shinkansen lines in some form for around 60 years since the first generation.
The trains have developed a mythical status among Japan's rail enthusiasts as their operating timetables are not disclosed to the public. Their elusiveness has given birth to claims that those who spot them will be blessed with happiness.
Video: Wajima traditional drumming resumes
