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

----------

Japan reverses blanket halt of inbound flight bookings amid criticism

TOKYO - The Japanese government said Thursday it has withdrawn its request for airlines to completely stop taking reservations for inbound international flights this month in the wake of criticism the measure against the Omicron variant of the coronavirus goes too far.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida admitted the transport ministry's announcement the previous day had caused public confusion, telling reporters he instructed officials to "adequately take into account" people's wishes to travel home.

----------

Ehime nuclear reactor in western Japan to be restarted after 2-yr halt

MATSUYAMA, Japan - Shikoku Electric Power Co. will restart Thursday afternoon a nuclear reactor in Ehime Prefecture in western Japan that has been offline since December 2019 for a regular checkup and then under a subsequent court injunction.

The utility will restart the No. 3 reactor at the Ikata nuclear power plant by removing the rod which controls the fission rate of the nuclear fuel.

----------

WTA suspends all tournaments in China over Peng case

TOKYO - The Women's Tennis Association said Wednesday it will suspend all tournaments in China, including Hong Kong, upping the ante in its row with Beijing over a sexual assault allegation made by Chinese tennis professional Peng Shuai against a former Chinese vice premier.

WTA Chairman and CEO Steve Simon said in a statement that Chinese leadership "left the WTA with no choice," after failing to address "this very serious issue in any credible way," in reference to the allegation Peng posted on social media early last month.

----------

Nissan unveils lunar rover prototype developed with JAXA

TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. unveiled Thursday a prototype of a lunar rover co-developed with Japan's space exploration agency that will employ the automaker's motor control technology to maneuver across the Moon's loose terrain.

The automaker said it aims to make the rover capable of traversing the undulating Moon surface smoothly by applying technology developed for use in its roadgoing electric vehicles such as the Leaf and Ariya.

----------

Japan, Malaysia vow to boost ties amid China's rise

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Malaysian Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Thursday pledged to boost their nations' relationship amid China's increasing maritime assertiveness in the region.

Kishida aired strong opposition to any "unilateral attempts to change the status quo in the East and South China seas," when he spoke with Ismail Sabri by phone for about 25 minutes, according to Japan's Foreign Ministry.

----------

17 Vietnamese cargo crew members rescued off Japan's western coast

KYOTO - Seventeen Vietnamese crew members of a Panamanian-registered cargo ship were rescued while one is missing after it sent a distress signal off the western Japan prefecture of Shimane, the coast guard said Thursday.

The missing crew member of the Houei Crystal fell into the sea from the deck of the 5,762-ton vessel at around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, hours before it sent the distress signal at around 4:30 p.m. the same day, according to Japan's 8th Regional Coast Guard Headquarters.

----------

N. Korea's ruling party to convene key gathering later December

BEIJING - North Korea's ruling party will convene a plenary meeting of the Central Committee later this month to review its policies for 2021, state-run media reported Thursday, as the country's economy remains stagnant amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The decision was made at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Workers' Party of Korea on Wednesday that leader Kim Jong Un attended, the official Korean Central News Agency said.

----------

Notorious Emotet malware resurfaces, detected in Japan

TOKYO - Emotet, considered the world's most dangerous malware, has recently returned and infected some computers in Japan after it was earlier taken down by an international law enforcement operation, cybersecurity experts said Thursday.

The experts warned the malware can pose a serious threat to unprotected systems around the world. They suspect there is a group of hackers who inherited knowledge on how to create and operate Emotet from the cybercrime gang that controlled it.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire