Kyodo News Digest: June 4, 2025

Kyodo News

3 days ago

KYODO NEWS - 3 minutes ago - 10:35 | All, Japan, World
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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South Korean liberal Lee begins 5-year presidential term
SEOUL - Lee Jae Myung of South Korea's liberal Democratic Party commenced a five-year term Wednesday after winning the country's presidential election, succeeding ousted Yoon Suk Yeol, who polarized the nation by imposing martial law.
"I will fulfill it with unwavering commitment and without deviation," said Lee, 60, who narrowly lost to Yoon in 2022, after local media reported he would secure victory in South Korea's presidential election on Tuesday.
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China's Li seeks cooperation with Japan amid tariff war with U.S.
BEIJING - Chinese Premier Li Qiang called Tuesday for deepening cooperation with Japan to counter "challenges to the world" posed by U.S. high tariffs as he met a Japanese business delegation led by former House of Representatives Speaker Yohei Kono, a group member said.
Li also told the group consisting of some 100 business representatives and other members that he "attaches great importance" to a request from Tokyo to lease some more Chinese giant pandas as all the pandas currently living in Japan are set to return home by February next year, the member said.
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Trump signs order to double steel, aluminum tariffs to 50%
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday signed an order to double tariffs on steel and aluminum imports to 50 percent, reigniting concerns over supply chain disruptions and a prolonged global trade war.
The additional tariffs, which will take effect at a minute past midnight, suggest that Trump has no intention of backing away from his aggressive trade strategy, even though they could result in higher prices for U.S. goods ranging from cars to canned food products.
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Japan mourns death of pro baseball legend Shigeo Nagashima
TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday mourned the death of legendary former baseball player and manager Shigeo Nagashima, who earned the nickname "Mr. Giants" for his lifelong contributions to the sport as part of the country's most historically dominant team.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba said Nagashima, who died at the age of 89, was someone whom he and those in his generation "truly admired," adding that the passing of the legend "marks the end of an era."
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Many see continued cuts in bond buying as appropriate: BOJ chief Ueda
TOKYO - Bank of Japan chief Kazuo Ueda said Tuesday that many market participants see continued reductions in government bond purchases as appropriate as the central bank moves to normalize policy after a decade of unorthodox easing.
In a speech in Tokyo, Ueda said there were "only limited calls" during a mid-May meeting with market participants to revise the current reduction plan through March 2026.
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U.S. says S. Korea alliance "ironclad" after Lee's presidential win
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump's administration on Tuesday congratulated Lee Jae Myung on his election as president of South Korea and reaffirmed Washington's "ironclad" commitment to the bilateral alliance.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a statement that the administration will continue to deepen trilateral cooperation with Japan and South Korea "to bolster regional security, enhance economic resilience and defend our shared democratic principles."
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China's Tiananmen incident remembered in exhibit moved to California
EL MONTE, California - An exhibit commemorating the victims and survivors of the military crackdown on Tiananmen Square protesters in Beijing in 1989 has opened near Los Angeles, having been relocated from its previous space in New York.
The June Fourth Memorial Exhibit, which launched in El Monte on Monday ahead of the 36th anniversary of the incident, displays the names of nearly 200 people who died in the violent crackdown, alongside physical artifacts from the Tiananmen protests.
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