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

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Prosecutors to build case over Kadokawa link with Olympics bribery

TOKYO - Prosecutors are looking to build a case against officials of Kadokawa Corp. on charges of bribery over payments made to an entity run by an acquaintance of Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive already embroiled in other cases of suspected corruption, sources close to the matter said Monday.

The publishing company gave 70 million yen ($500,000) over 10 installments to the consulting firm run by Takahashi's acquaintance, and prosecutors are investigating whether the acquaintance may have asked Takahashi to help Kadokawa be chosen as a sponsor for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the sources said.

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Truss named Britain's next prime minister after winning party vote

LONDON - British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Monday was named the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party and, thus, the next prime minister, beating her rival Rishi Sunak, a former chancellor of the exchequer.

Truss, 47, will be formally appointed by Queen Elizabeth on Tuesday after she secured 57.4 percent of the party members' votes to Sunak's 42.6 percent. A total of 172,437 members cast their votes.

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Japan eyes new scheme to cap large firms' gas use in supply crunch

TOKYO - Japan looks to set up a scheme to enable a natural gas usage restriction order for large companies in the event of a sudden shortage, in a bid to address fears over energy supplies in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the industry ministry said Monday.

The plan is part of proposals compiled by a ministry panel the same day to ensure stable energy procurement. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry aims to revise the gas business law to establish the new scheme before demand picks up for this winter.

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M6.8 quake kills 30 in China's southwestern province of Sichuan

BEIJING - A magnitude 6.8 earthquake hit China's southwestern province of Sichuan on Monday, leaving at least 30 people dead and over 30 injured, Chinese media reported.

The quake struck Luding County in Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture at 12:52 p.m. at a depth of 16 kilometers, prompting authorities to dispatch personnel for rescue efforts, they said.

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S. Korea holds final talks of body on wartime labor during Japan rule

SEOUL - South Korea on Monday said it held the fourth meeting of a public-private consultative body it set up to resolve wartime labor issues stemming from Japan's colonial rule of the Korean Peninsula, with officials calling it final such gathering.

Ahead of an impending court ruling over the envisioned liquidation of Japanese corporate assets to pay damages to groups of South Koreans, the government will consider the discussions at the consultative body and come up with an alternative solution to selling off the assets, which it would propose to Japan, the officials said.

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New submersion method added as option to aid Fukushima debris cleanup

TOKYO - A state-backed body helping with the scrapping of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which suffered core meltdowns in 2011, added as an option a new submersion method for removing radioactive fuel debris that would wholly encase a reactor building in a water-filled, tank-like structure, the body said Monday.

The method, expected to reduce the risk of leakage of radioactive waste, was outlined in the 2022 edition of the technical strategic plan for decommissioning the crippled plant by the Nuclear Damage Compensation and Decommissioning Facilitation Corp. The technique could be applied to the No. 3 reactor of the power plant operated by Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc.

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Japan's Prince Hisahito, 2nd in line to throne, turns 16

TOKYO - Prince Hisahito, the nephew of Emperor Naruhito and second in line to the Japanese imperial throne, turned 16 Tuesday after starting senior high school this spring.

The son of Crown Prince Fumihito graduated from Ochanomizu University Junior High School in March and entered a senior high school attached to the University of Tsukuba, also in Tokyo, the following month.

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Kishida congratulates Truss on winning race to become British leader

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Monday congratulated Foreign Secretary Liz Truss for winning a party leadership contest, expressing hope she will exercise strong leadership as Britain's new prime minister.

"I have high expectations that you will lead the UK with strong leadership," Kishida said in a Twitter post on her victory in the race to choose the new leader of the ruling Conservative Party and, thus, the new British leader.

==Kyodo

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