Kyodo News Digest: June 28, 2025
KYODO NEWS - 17 minutes ago - 09:00 | All, Japan, World
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, U.S. agree to continue tariff talks as July deadline looms
WASHINGTON - Japanese and U.S. negotiators agreed Friday to continue talks toward a tariff deal that will be beneficial to both countries.
Japan's government said its top tariff negotiator, Ryosei Akazawa, and U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick held talks in Washington, with each side reaffirming its position during "fruitful" discussions on trade expansion, nontariff measures and economic security cooperation.
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Japan gov't asks operators to address disinformation before election
TOKYO - Japan's government on Friday asked major platform operators to help counter harmful social media posts in an effort to prevent disinformation and defamation targeting candidates ahead of a nationwide parliamentary election next month.
The request by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications came as both the ruling and opposition camps emphasized the need to address disinformation during elections, though they have yet to agree how strictly the issue should be regulated.
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Nobel committee chair to visit Hiroshima, Nagasaki in July
TOKYO - Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, will visit the atomic-bombed cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki next month and may meet with atomic bomb survivors, a source close to the matter said Friday.
Frydnes will arrive in Hiroshima on July 21 and later head to Nagasaki, likely visiting memorial museums and other sites related to the bombings, according to the source.
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Senior China military officer removed from top defense body
BEIJING - China's parliament has voted to remove senior military officer Miao Hua from the nation's top defense body during its session through Friday, the official Xinhua News Agency said.
In November, Miao was suspended from his position as a member of the Central Military Commission for "serious violations of discipline." The Chinese military leadership has been engulfed in a corruption scandal since around the summer of 2023.
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U.S. State Secretary Rubio's 1st visit to Japan eyed for July
TOKYO - Japan and the United States are arranging for U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio to make his first visit to Japan early next month, a Japanese government source said Friday, with U.S.-imposed tariffs and the Middle East situation expected to be key topics.
The trip is being arranged as part of Rubio's travel to Asia to attend a series of foreign ministerial meetings related to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Malaysia from July 8 to 11, according to the source. He also plans to visit South Korea.
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Iran envoy urges A-bombed Japan to stand against U.S. attacks
TOKYO - Iranian ambassador to Japan Peiman Seadat has urged Tokyo to stand against U.S. and Israeli strikes on nuclear facilities in his nation after President Donald Trump's remark likening the U.S. attacks to the 1945 atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
The ambassador said in a recent interview with Kyodo News that the comment is an "insult" not only to Iran, but also to Japan, the world's only country to have suffered atomic bombings.
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U.S. tariff rate hits historic level of 25.9%: Japan trade report
TOKYO - The effective U.S. tariff rate on all imports rose to as high as 25.9 percent under President Donald Trump, surpassing levels not seen since the protectionist policies of the Great Depression, the Japanese government's annual trade report showed Friday.
The U.S. tariff measures as of early April, including an increase in the levies on China to 145 percent, reached a "historic scale," the Japanese trade ministry said, adding that frequent changes in Trump's trade policy are creating "heightened uncertainty."
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Rice imports to Japan surge in May, 3.5 times FY 2024 total
TOKYO - Private sector imports of tariffed rice to Japan in May were 3.5 times the total volume brought in during all of fiscal 2024, revised government trade data showed Friday, as soaring prices of domestic rice have spurred demand for cheaper alternatives.
According to the Finance Ministry's trade statistics, revised from a preliminary report issued earlier this month, 10,605 tons of tariffed rice were imported in May, a sharp increase from 115 tons in the same period last year. The United States, which accounted for 7,894 tons, was the largest source, followed by Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam.
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