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

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Nikkei up 4.9% in 2021, highest year-end finish since 1989

TOKYO - The benchmark Nikkei stock index on Thursday saw its highest year-end finish since 1989, with global monetary easing and solid earnings of manufacturers contributing to a 4.9 percent rise from a year before, despite lingering concerns about the coronavirus pandemic.

In the final trading session of the year, the 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 115.17 points, or 0.40 percent, from Wednesday at 28,791.71, but it marked the third straight year of increase. Japanese financial markets will be closed from Friday through Monday for the New Year holidays.

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S. Korea court orders sale of confiscated Nippon Steel assets

SEOUL - A South Korean court on Thursday ordered the sale of confiscated assets of Nippon Steel Corp. to compensate plaintiffs in a wartime forced labor lawsuit, a court official said, in the second court decision of its kind.

The order against the Japanese company was issued by a district court branch in the southeastern city of Daegu. It follows one in September in another case involving Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd.

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Kishida urges extra precautions for COVID as Japan enters holiday

TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday called on the public to take extra precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus as people start traveling across Japan for the year-end and New Year's holiday period.

"As the community spread of the Omicron variant (of the virus) has been confirmed, I have to ask you to be more cautious than usual to prevent a resurgence of infections," Kishida said in a video posted on the Twitter account of the Prime Minister's Office.

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Suspect in fatal Osaka mental clinic fire dies

OSAKA - The suspect in a fatal fire at a mental health clinic in Osaka earlier this month died Thursday, police said.

Morio Tanimoto, 61, suspected of murder and arson, remained in critical condition due to carbon monoxide poisoning from the Dec. 17 fire that killed 25 others.

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N. Korea touts Kim on 10th anniversary of becoming supreme commander

BEIJING - North Korea's ruling party on Thursday touted leader Kim Jong Un, who marked the 10th anniversary of his ascension to supreme commander of the military, saying he bolstered the "fighting spirit" of all the people.

The anniversary comes as the Workers' Party of Korea has been holding its key meeting since earlier this week to review its policies, including how to engage with the United States, as the nation's economy has languished amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

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2 Hong Kong pro-democracy journalists charged with sedition

HONG KONG - Two former top editors of Hong Kong pro-democracy online media outlet Stand News were charged with sedition on Thursday following a raid on its office the day before, according to the police.

The now-defunct outlet's former chief editor Chung Pui-kuen appeared in court after being charged with conspiracy to publish seditious publications.

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U.N. nuclear nonproliferation gathering put off again due to COVID-19

NEW YORK - A U.N. conference on nuclear nonproliferation due to take place in New York from early next month was postponed again because of surging COVID-19 cases, diplomatic sources said Wednesday.

The meeting to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was scheduled to be held Jan. 4 to 28 in New York after being delayed three times from its original date in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

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McDonald's Japan to put large-size fries back on menu on Friday

TOKYO - McDonald's Co. (Japan) will put medium- and large-size french fries back on the menu as planned on Friday after their sales were suspended for a week due to a potato shortage.

"(The suspension) caused a great deal of trouble to our customers," McDonald's said Thursday in a statement. "We will continue to cooperate with importers and suppliers to ensure stable procurement."

==Kyodo

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