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

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50% of single-parent households in Japan struggle financially: study

TOKYO - More than half of single-parent households in Japan struggle financially while 30 percent have experienced being unable to afford food, results of the first government survey on child poverty showed Friday.

The study, which yielded 2,715 valid responses from students in their second year of junior high school and their guardians, also found that only 34.4 percent of children from single-parent families aim to go onto tertiary education or higher, compared with 49.7 percent overall.

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Japan will not send senior officials to Beijing Olympics

TOKYO - Japan will not send a government delegation to the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, a decision seen as in line with a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the sporting spectacle over China's human rights record.

But Japanese athletes will attend the February games as scheduled. Japan will send Seiko Hashimoto, a House of Councillors lawmaker and president of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics held this summer, and two others, Kishida told reporters.

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1st community spread of Omicron virus variant confirmed in Tokyo

TOKYO - The first case of community transmission of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been reported in Tokyo, the metropolitan government said Friday, making the capital the latest area to confirm the spread of the highly contagious strain.

A male doctor in his 50s, who works at a clinic in the capital and has no history of recent travel overseas, was confirmed to be infected with the variant through an unknown route, it said.

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Japan approves 1st COVID-19 pill

TOKYO - Japan's health ministry approved Friday an oral COVID-19 drug developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co., making it the first such pill to be used in the country.

Molnupiravir, which prevents the novel coronavirus from multiplying in the body, was given the green light under a fast-track process after MSD K.K., the Japanese arm of Merck, applied in early December to produce and sell the drug in Japan.

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Travel agency H.I.S. reveals fraudulent receipt of travel subsidies

TOKYO - Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Friday its subsidiaries fraudulently received the government's tourism promotion subsidies last year by overreporting the number of hotel room stays they sold.

H.I.S. said its internal probe panel found that the two units, Japan Holiday Travel Co. and Miki Tourist Co., received a combined 683 million yen ($6 million) worth of subsidies under the "Go To Travel" campaign for hotel stays that never took place.

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Top 3 U.N. contributors unchanged, China's share expanding

NEW YORK - The United States, China and Japan will remain the top three contributors to the United Nations budget for the 2022-2024 period, with Beijing's share expanding while Tokyo's declines in the plan adopted by the General Assembly on Friday.

The United States will account for 22.0 percent of the general budget for the upcoming three-year period, the upper limit for one member economy, followed by China at 15.25 percent and Japan at 8.03 percent.

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S. Korea grants pardon to ex-President Park Geun Hye

SEOUL - The South Korean government said Friday it will grant a pardon to former President Park Geun Hye who is serving a 22-year prison term after being convicted of corruption and other charges.

Justice Minister Park Beom Kye told reporters the amnesty will be given on Friday next week "as a way to unite South Koreans." The government also considered the 69-year-old's deteriorating health that saw her hospitalized recently.

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Hanyu shines in spotlight on return at figure skate nationals

TOKYO - Two-time Olympic gold medalist Yuzuru Hanyu made a dazzling return to the ice Friday at Japan's national figure skating championships, throwing down a marker for the Beijing Winter Games with an outstanding short program performance.

The 27-year-old superstar scored 111.31 at Saitama Super Arena to take a big lead in the men's singles competition over Pyeongchang Olympic silver medalist Shoma Uno, who earned 101.88 for a clean and composed routine. Former junior national champion Yuma Kagiyama placed third on 95.15.

==Kyodo

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