Kyodo News Digest: May 10, 2025

Kyodo News

10-05-2025

KYODO NEWS - 5 hours ago - 09:03 | All, Japan, World
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM rules out consumption tax cut amid inflation, tariff relief
TOKYO - Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has no plans to reduce the consumption tax rate to help soften the blow from inflation and U.S. tariffs, sources with knowledge of the matter said Friday, brushing aside calls for relief from the opposition and even some ruling party lawmakers ahead of a national election.
Ishiba has already informed senior government officials of his intentions, the sources said, apparently reflecting concern that a tax cut would constrain the government's fiscal space.
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Trump says lowering tariffs on China to 80% "seems right"
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said Friday that lowering his administration's hefty tariffs on China to 80 percent "seems right" ahead of a high-level trade meeting this weekend in Switzerland.
Trump also wrote on social media that China should open up its market to American products as senior officials of the two countries are set to meet in-person for the first time since he raised U.S. tariffs on Chinese goods to at least 145 percent.
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U.S. military, Okinawa hold 1st safety forum after sex assault cases
NAHA, Japan - Representatives of U.S. forces in Japan and Okinawa authorities held their first meeting Friday under a new forum to discuss joint safety measures, following alleged sexual assault cases involving American service members in the southern island prefecture.
In closed-door talks at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Foster, the U.S. military outlined its existing preventive measures, while both sides agreed to work toward holding a regular joint community patrol, like the one conducted in April in the city of Okinawa, and expanding it to other parts of the prefecture, according to a local government official.
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Trump has no plans to change 10% baseline tariff for all countries
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump has no plans to change his new 10 percent baseline tariff rate for imports from all countries, the White House said Friday.
"The president is determined to continue with that 10 percent baseline tariff. I just spoke to him about it earlier," White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt told a press briefing.
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Senior N. Korean military officers greet Putin on WWII anniversary
MOSCOW - Senior North Korean officers greeted President Vladimir Putin following a military parade at Red Square in Moscow on Friday to celebrate what Russia observes as Victory Day, the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe.
Kim Yong Bok and Ri Chang Ho, deputy chiefs of the General Staff of the Korean People's Army, embraced Putin and shook hands with him. The two close aides to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un are believed to have previously visited Russia to supervise the Asian country's troops dispatched to support Moscow in its war against Ukraine.
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Myanmar junta chief meets with China's Xi, 1st time since 2021 coup
YANGON - The chief of Myanmar's military-led government held talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping on Friday in Moscow, the junta said, marking their first meeting since the coup occurred in the Southeast Asian country in February 2021.
Xi told Myanmar's Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing that Beijing will continue to provide aid to help those affected by a major earthquake in Myanmar in March, and the general expressed his gratitude, according to the Myanmar authorities.
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Panasonic to lay off 10,000 employees globally amid restructuring
OSAKA - Panasonic Holdings Corp. said Friday it will lay off 10,000 domestic and overseas employees, or just under 5 percent of its total workforce, as part of restructuring its business.
The firm said the job cuts will target 5,000 workers in Japan and 5,000 overseas, with some employees to be offered early retirement. As of March, Panasonic had a workforce of 207,548 people.
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2 arrested in Tokyo for fake residence IDs, may have made thousands
TOKYO - Two Chinese men have been arrested for allegedly making and selling fake residence cards for foreigners, Tokyo police said Friday, suspecting the pair may have been involved in producing thousands of counterfeit identity documents.
Du Jingjiang, 35, and Li Long, 36, both living in Tokyo's Ota Ward, allegedly conspired with other individuals to create 30 counterfeit residence cards around April 8, using computers at home. They took orders via social media.
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