Kyodo News Digest: Dec. 4, 2023

A 20-meter-tall Christmas tree is illuminated with about 150,000 LED lights in Hakodate on Japan’s northernmost main island of Hokkaido on Dec. 1, 2023. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan gets “fossil” award again as climate action slammed

DUBAI – An international environmental group gave Japan the thumbs down with its “fossil” award again on Sunday, criticizing the country for placing emphasis on coal-fired power despite its pledge to “contribute to global decarbonization.”

The dud award is given to countries seen as backwards in addressing climate change threats by the Climate Action Network at the venue of the U.N. climate change conferences. Japan was also the recipient in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

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Japan PM “not aware” Unification Church member present at 2019 talks

TOKYO – Japanese Prime Minster Fumio Kishida said Monday he is “not aware” of holding a reported meeting involving a senior member of a group affiliated with the controversial Unification Church in 2019, when he was serving as the ruling party’s policy chief.

His remarks came after the daily Asahi Shimbun reported earlier in the day that the leader of the Japan branch of the Universal Peace Federation was also present at a gathering Kishida held with former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich that year.

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Democracy activist Agnes Chow in Canada, not to return to Hong Kong

HONG KONG – Hong Kong pro-democracy activist Agnes Chow said Sunday she has left the territory to study in Canada and has no plans to return, two years after her release from prison where she served time for inciting an unauthorized protest in 2019.

In her first public Instagram post since her release in 2021, the 27-year-old claimed she had been taken to mainland China by Hong Kong’s national security police.

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Japan to introduce electronic arrest warrants, interrogation records

TOKYO – Japan’s Justice Ministry plans to introduce electronic arrest warrants and interrogation records as the country seeks to promote the digitalization of its criminal procedures, ministry officials said Monday.

The ministry is set to submit revisions to the Code of Criminal Procedure in the Diet next year based on proposals made Monday by its advisory panel, they said.

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China follows U.S. warship in S. China Sea, claims illegal intrusion

BEIJING – China said Monday its military has followed and monitored a U.S. warship in the South China Sea, claiming the vessel “illegally intruded” into waters near a disputed shoal that is part of the Spratly Islands chain.

The Southern Theater Command of the People’s Liberation Army said in a statement that Washington’s dispatch of the warship “seriously encroached on China’s sovereignty” and “seriously undermined regional peace and stability.”

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Toyota to make 20% of European sales zero-emission cars by 2026

LONDON – Toyota Motor Corp. said Monday it will increase the percentage of zero-emission vehicles in its European sales to over 20 percent by 2026, offering at least 15 electric and fuel-cell models.

The plan comes as the European Union is set to ban sales of gasoline-powered cars in 2035, prompting global automakers to accelerate a shift to all-electric cars.

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Pieces of Osprey wreckage given to U.S. after crash off Japan

KAGOSHIMA, Japan – Pieces of wreckage from an Osprey military aircraft that crashed in waters off southwestern Japan were handed over to U.S. military Sunday, Japanese authorities said, as an around-the-clock search continued for seven missing crew members.

The wreckage was collected by a ship from the 10th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters in Kagoshima Prefecture, and by fishermen from the town of Yakushima, after the tilt-rotor aircraft went down on Wednesday during a training exercise near the island town.

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World Media Summit discusses journalism amid digitalization

GUANGZHOU, China – Representatives from media outlets worldwide gathered in southern China’s Guangzhou on Sunday to discuss ways to ensure reliable reporting in the age of digitalization, with participants calling for the appropriate use of artificial intelligence and stressing the importance of on-site reports.

Some 450 participants of the World Media Summit from over 100 countries and regions said in a joint statement that global media should adhere to journalistic ethics and meet professional standards while actively carrying out innovation, and make rational use of emerging technologies, according to Chinese media.

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Video: Chichibu Night Festival in Saitama Prefecture