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The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan sees record cases of child abuse in 2021 amid pandemic
TOKYO – A record 2,170 cases of child abuse were investigated last year in Japan, up 1.7 percent from the previous year, as the coronavirus pandemic continued to reduce opportunities for welfare workers to intervene, a police report showed Thursday.
The number of minors referred to child welfare centers nationwide due to suspicion of abuse, meanwhile, also reached a record high at 108,050, up 1.0 percent from the previous year and surpassing 100,000 for the second consecutive year, the National Police Agency said in a preliminary report. It defines minors as children aged under 18.
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Japan traders Mitsubishi, Mitsui mull carbon storage project off Australia
TOKYO – Major Japanese trading houses Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co. are studying the feasibility of commercializing a carbon capture and storage project on the seabed off the coast of Australia, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
The process, also known as CCS, has been attracting attention as a technology critical to achieving a decarbonized society, with the envisaged facility expected to be operational in 2030 at the earliest.
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U.S. to send thousands of troops in coming days over Ukraine tension
WASHINGTON – The United States on Wednesday announced plans to deploy thousands of additional troops to Europe in coming days to assure its allies in the region amid fears that Russia may further invade Ukraine, a move that triggered a backlash from Moscow.
The administration of President Joe Biden has also approached several major natural-gas importers in Asia, including China and Japan, about sending fuel to Europe to address any energy shortages that may occur in the region, which is dependent on Russian supplies, according to Bloomberg.
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Beijing Olympic bubble takes virus control measures to new level
BEIJING – With the Beijing Winter Olympics set to open Friday, athletes and media from around the world have converged on the Chinese capital under coronavirus control measures unprecedented for a major international sporting event.
Having achieved one of the world’s lowest COVID-19 death rates per capita with strategies including spot lockdowns and heavy restrictions on international arrivals, Chinese authorities are determined to ensure the games, running through Feb. 20, do not contribute to spreading the virus.
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Japan gov’t panel OKs adding 35th of 47 prefs. to COVID quasi-emergency
TOKYO – A government panel on Thursday approved placing Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan under a COVID-19 quasi-state of emergency, raising the number of areas subject to the measure to 35 of the country’s 47 prefectures amid surging infections.
The measure will allow the governor of Wakayama to ask dining establishments to shorten their business hours and limit or stop the serving of alcohol. The curbs will come into effect from Saturday to Feb. 27 after a formal government decision later in the day.
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New Zealand to begin staged border reopening from late February
SYDNEY – New Zealand will allow returning citizens to self-isolate rather than enter quarantine facilities from late February, while international tourists will be welcomed back starting in July at the latest, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Thursday as the nation looks to scale back its pandemic border restrictions.
The new quarantine rules will take effect for vaccinated New Zealanders as well as other eligible travelers coming from Australia from Feb. 27, and be applied to vaccinated citizens and visa holders returning from anywhere else across the globe two weeks later, Ardern said.
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Japan’s daily COVID-19 cases exceed 90,000 for first time
TOKYO – Japan confirmed a record 94,908 coronavirus cases Wednesday, eclipsing the previous record logged late last week by nearly 10,000 and exceeding the 90,000 mark for the first time, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to wreak havoc across the country.
While Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has said he is not considering declaring a state of emergency in Tokyo despite the recent spike in infections, the capital’s daily count continued to climb Wednesday, exceeding the previous record last Friday by nearly 4,000 cases to reach 21,576.
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Panasonic’s April-Dec. net profit up on brisk sales of EV batteries
TOKYO – Panasonic Corp. on Wednesday reported a net profit of 195.63 billion yen ($1.70 billion) in the April-December period, up 50.3 percent from a year earlier, on the back of strong sales of batteries for electric vehicles.
The automotive and energy segments, key growth areas for the electronics company, logged sales of 774.9 billion yen, up 7 percent from a year earlier, and 568.0 billion yen, up 27 percent, respectively, due to strong overseas demand for in-vehicle equipment and electric car batteries for Tesla Inc.
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