Kyodo News Digest: July 29, 2025
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U.S., China kick off high-level trade talks in Sweden
STOCKHOLM - The United States and China on Monday kicked off a third round of high-level trade talks, during which they could agree to extend a 90-day tariff truce between the two countries beyond Aug. 12.
Top trade officials from each side met in Stockholm amid easing tensions, with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent saying last week that the trade relationship is now "in a good place" and he wants to move on to the next phase of discussing broader issues with Beijing.
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Nissan mulls halting output at Mexico plants under restructuring plan
TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. is considering suspending operations at two plants in Mexico, both located in the country's central region, as part of its global plan to shut down seven production sites, a source familiar with the matter said Monday.
The facilities under review include Nissan's first overseas plant, opened in 1966 in Cuernavaca, and a joint venture factory with Germany's Mercedes-Benz that produces Infiniti-brand sport utility vehicles, according to the source.
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Japan adopts 1st space defense guidelines with China, Russia in mind
TOKYO - Japan's Defense Ministry on Monday set out its first guidelines aimed at enhancing its defense in outer space, in a move to brace for increasing activities by China and Russia in the new domain of warfare.
In its "space domain defense guidelines," the ministry warned that some countries, including China and Russia, have been advancing the development of "killer satellites," which are designed to neutralize or destroy the space assets of other countries.
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Japan group to excavate remains of Japanese war dead in Taiwan
TAIPEI - A Japanese association dedicated to repatriating the remains of the country's war dead is preparing to carry out an excavation survey in Taiwan to retrieve the remains of soldiers who died there during World War II.
Around 41,900 Japanese are estimated to have died in Taiwan during the war, with the remains of about 15,600 Japanese being unrecovered, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
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Japan PM Ishiba faces renewed calls to resign over election loss
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday faced and defied renewed pressure to resign, as members of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party moved to tighten the screws over the recent election setback.
A week after the ruling coalition lost its majority in the July 20 House of Councillors election, many LDP lawmakers attending Monday's in-person meeting with party executives called on Ishiba to step down. Some participants, however, voiced support for the embattled leader.
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Trump slashes Russia's Ukraine war deadline from 50 to 10-12 days
TURNBERRY, Scotland - U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday slashed the timeline he is giving Russia to make progress toward ending its war in Ukraine to 10 to 12 days from a 50-day deadline he set two weeks ago, escalating his threat of possible "severe" economic penalties against Moscow.
Speaking to the press alongside British Prime Minister Keir Starmer after their meeting in Scotland, Trump expressed frustration with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the lack of progress in halting the conflict.
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Man arrested after slashing several people in east Japan
MITO, Japan - A 48-year-old man was arrested following an attack in eastern Japan on Monday in which several people were slashed with a blade, according to local authorities.
Hirokazu Shiobara was arrested at the scene for attempting to murder a man in his 70s by slashing his face and right wrist. The incident occurred around 6:10 p.m. in a shopping area around 750 meters northwest of Mito Station in Ibaraki Prefecture, northeast of Tokyo.
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Cambodia, Thailand agree to ceasefire after talks in Malaysia
PUTRAJAYA, Malaysia - Cambodia and Thailand agreed to an immediate ceasefire after the two countries' leaders met in Malaysia on Monday, following fighting in a disputed border area that began last week, leaving more than 30 people dead, including civilians, and many others injured.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who attended a press conference with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Manet and Thailand's acting Prime Minister Phumtham Wechayachai, said that the Cambodian and Thai leaders had reached a common understanding that "an immediate and unconditional ceasefire" would be effective from midnight Monday.
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Video: Japan university research team discovers 248 new Nazca Lines geoglyphs in Peru
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