Photo taken on Dec. 9, 2023, shows Los Angeles Angels’ franchise Angel Stadium in Anaheim, California, after two-way baseball star Shohei Ohtani’s picture was removed from the ballpark’s wall following the announcement earlier in the day he has agreed to a record $700 million, 10-year contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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FOCUS: Political funds scandals may signal early end of Kishida gov’t
TOKYO – The political fundraising scandal surrounding the Japanese ruling party’s biggest faction might signal an early end to the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who is already under pressure over his relationship with a controversial religious group.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno is accused of failing to report millions of yen he received from revenue that the faction, previously headed by former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, gained from fundraising events, sources close to the matter said Friday.
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Scandal-hit Japan spokesman faces no-confidence motion
TOKYO – Japan’s largest opposition party submitted a no-confidence motion against the top government spokesman on Monday over accusations he failed to report millions of yen received as part of fundraising efforts for his ruling party faction.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan brought the motion against Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno. Jun Azumi, Diet affairs chief of the opposition party, told reporters that keeping Matsuno, a Liberal Democratic Party member, in his post “would harm the national interest,” given he has neglected to swiftly respond to the allegations.
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Philippines condemns China actions after South China Sea confrontations
EL NIDO, Philippines – Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned Chinese actions following confrontations between the two countries’ vessels in the South China Sea over the weekend, saying his government remains “undeterred” by Beijing’s “aggression and provocations.”
“No one but the Philippines has a legitimate right or legal basis to operate anywhere in the West Philippine Sea,” Marcos said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, on Sunday.
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Japan anime giant Miyazaki’s new work tops U.S. box office
LOS ANGELES – The latest film directed by Japanese anime giant Hayao Miyazaki topped the first weekend box office in the United States after its release, according to a tally by a movie information website.
U.S. media reports said “The Boy and the Heron,” scripted by Miyazaki, who won an Oscar for “Spirited Away” in 2003, has become the first original animated film to top the rankings.
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California city dedicates square to WWII Japanese-American soldier
GLENDALE, California – A city in a Los Angeles suburb has dedicated an intersection to the first Japanese-American soldier to receive the most distinguished U.S. military medal for his actions during World War II.
Commemorating Sadao Munemori from Glendale, the city office named the location “Sadao S. Munemori Memorial Square” and held a ceremony Saturday attended by his relatives, veterans from Munemori’s infantry regiment and others.
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Fukushima nuclear plant worker exposed to radiation
TOKYO – A plant worker at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear complex may have ingested radioactive materials after his face was exposed to the substances, the plant operator said Monday.
The operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. said the man in his 20s was wearing a protective full-face mask and suit while working in a room near the plant’s No. 2 reactor building, decontaminating fences and other equipment ahead of the removal of 615 spent nuclear fuel rods from the building.
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Japan, ASEAN to map out “new vision” at Tokyo summit: gov’t
TOKYO – Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations will map out a “new vision” of cooperation in various fields in a joint statement to be issued after a commemorative leaders’ summit in Tokyo later this week, the government said Monday.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Indonesian President Joko Widodo are slated to co-host the gathering on Sunday, being held to mark 50 years of friendship and cooperation between Japan and ASEAN, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno told a news conference.
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U.S. F-16 fighter crashes into sea off South Korea, pilot rescued
SEOUL – A U.S. F-16 fighter jet crashed into the Yellow Sea off South Korea on Monday during a routine training flight, and the pilot rescued by South Korean maritime authorities after ejecting from the plane, according to the U.S. Air Force.
The jet, assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing, left Kunsan Air Base located in Gunsan, a city south of Seoul, and experienced “an in-flight emergency” at approximately 8:43 a.m. before crashing into the sea, the U.S. Air Force said in a press release.
Video: Fans in L.A. express excitement after Ohtani’s Dodgers decision
