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The Japanese flag flies at half staff at the Diet building in Tokyo on July 11, 2022, following the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe during upper house election campaigning in Nara, western Japan, on July 8. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Large number of shotgun-style shells found at Abe shooter’s home
NARA, Japan – A large number of plastic shells that can be used in a shotgun-style weapon have been found at the home of the man accused of shooting and killing former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, investigative sources said Tuesday.
Tetsuya Yamagami has told investigators that he initially planned to produce bombs, but decided to make guns instead as he wanted to zero in on his target and did not want to cause indiscriminate injuries, according to the sources.
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Japan’s June wholesale inflation at 9.2% as import prices see record surge
TOKYO – Wholesale prices in Japan jumped 9.2 percent in June from a year earlier after import prices surged at the fastest pace on record due to the sharp drop in the yen, Bank of Japan data showed Tuesday.
Japan has seen the prices of goods traded between companies rising by 9 percent or more for the past six months, giving evidence that inflationary pressures are persisting as Russia’s war in Ukraine sends energy, raw material and food prices sharply higher.
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FOCUS: Asia experts seek Japan’s lead in rules-based order after Kishida win
TOKYO – Asian security experts have welcomed the victory by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s ruling coalition in Sunday’s House of Councillors election, saying Japan’s political stability and leadership are vital for shoring up a rules-based international order being challenged by countries such as China and Russia.
Citing Russia’s aggression in Ukraine, China’s increased assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific and North Korea’s nuclear and missile development, the experts expressed support for, or at least did not oppose, Kishida’s calls for boosting Japan’s defense capabilities and amending the Constitution, including adding a reference to the Self-Defense Forces in the war-renouncing Article 9.
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Mourners bid farewell to ex-PM Abe as funeral held at Tokyo temple
TOKYO – The funeral of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was shot dead during a stump speech last week, was held Tuesday at a Buddhist temple in the heart of Tokyo.
With a limited number of attendees present, such as lawmakers and bereaved family members, his wife Akie acted as chief mourner during the service at Zojoji Temple, located at the foot of the capital’s iconic Tokyo Tower.
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Japan, U.S. finance ministers meet in Tokyo with focus on currencies
TOKYO – Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen will meet Tuesday in Tokyo, focusing their discussions on a Russian oil price cap in response to Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, while financial markets closely watch for any mention of currencies with the yen at a 24-year low.
With the price cap likely to limit Russia’s ability to spend on its military, Suzuki and Yellen will also discuss steps to curb a surge in energy and food prices propelled by the Ukraine war, according to the U.S. Treasury Department.
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World population to reach 8 billion in November: U.N.
NEW YORK – The global population will reach 8 billion in mid-November, with India likely to surpass China as the world’s most populous country in 2023, a United Nations report said Monday.
Affected by COVID-19, global life expectancy at birth fell to 71.0 years last year, down from 72.8 years in 2019, the United Nations said, adding the pandemic may have led to short-term reductions in the numbers of pregnancies and births.
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NASA unveils 1st image from world’s most powerful space telescope
WASHINGTON – NASA on Monday unveiled the first full-color image from the world’s most powerful space telescope, capturing shining galaxies formed shortly after the Big Bang.
“We’re looking back more than 13 billion years,” NASA Administrator Bill Nelson told an event at the White House to reveal what the U.S. space agency described as the first of the “deepest and sharpest” infrared images of the distant universe to date from the James Webb Space Telescope.
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FOCUS: China wary Japan’s Kishida may take hard stance following election
BEIJING – China has apparently become wary that Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida may adopt a hard-line approach to the Communist-led government after his ruling party enjoyed a sweeping victory in Sunday’s upper house election.
Beijing is also closely watching whether Friday’s shocking assassination of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, regarded as a hawkish conservative in China, will motivate Kishida to revise the country’s war-renouncing Constitution, diplomatic sources said.
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