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The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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N. Korea fires 8 short-range ballistic missiles: S. Korean military
SEOUL/TOKYO – North Korea launched eight short-range ballistic missiles toward the Sea of Japan on Sunday, the South Korean military said, a day after South Korea and the United States ended joint drills involving a U.S. aircraft carrier in international waters off Okinawa, southern Japan.
Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi said North Korea had fired at least six ballistic missiles from more than three locations on the country’s east and west coasts as well as inland, and they traveled 300 to 400 kilometers eastward.
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China launches spaceship carrying 3 astronauts to space station
BEIJING – China successfully launched a spaceship Sunday carrying three astronauts to the nation’s first space station, as President Xi Jinping has pledged to make the Asian country a space power in the next 10 years.
A rocket carrying the Shenzhou-14 spaceship blasted off from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in China’s northwest province of Gansu. The three Chinese astronauts are scheduled to stay aboard its core module for six months.
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Lithium Price jumps fivefold as demand surges for use in EV batteries
TOKYO – The price of lithium, a rare metal used in the manufacturing of rechargeable batteries, has increased fivefold since April last year as demand from automakers surged, according to a recent report by British research firm Argus Media.
Prices have also soared for other metals such as cobalt and nickel that are used for the batteries, which account for about 30 to 40 percent of the overall price of EVs, the firm said.
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Majority of Japanese firms struggle to get materials amid war in Ukraine
TOKYO – More than 50 percent of Japanese firms are struggling to obtain raw materials and other commodities due to Russia’s war in Ukraine, according to a survey by a credit research firm.
The Teikoku Databank survey found 50.8 percent were affected in terms of raw materials, products and services they obtain and 66.7 percent were experiencing effects from surging purchase costs.
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Campaigning for Japan upper house poll to begin June 22: LDP exec
TOKYO – The official campaign period for Japan’s House of Councillors election will start on June 22, Liberal Democratic Party Secretary General Toshimitsu Motegi said Saturday.
“There is no doubt the campaign period will start on June 22,” Motegi said at a meeting held in Yamanashi Prefecture, adding to growing expectations the upper house election will be held July 10 if the current parliamentary session ends on June 15 as scheduled.
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Tennis: Kunieda lifts 8th French Open wheelchair singles title
PARIS – Japan’s Shingo Kunieda won his eighth French Open men’s wheelchair singles final, and his first in four years, on Saturday.
The 38-year-old second seed defeated third-seeded Gustavo Fernandez of Argentina, his men’s doubles partner, 6-2, 5-7, 7-5 to add to his long list of career accomplishments including three Paralympic gold medals.
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