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

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Canada joins diplomatic boycott of Beijing Olympics

NEW YORK - The Canadian government said Wednesday it will not send government officials to next year's Beijing Olympics, joining the United States and others in a diplomatic boycott of the Winter Games over China's human rights record.

The announcement came after Australia and Britain said earlier in the day that they too will engage in a diplomatic boycott, following the U.S. lead. President Joe Biden made his country's move official on Monday, citing alleged human rights abuses in China's far-western Xinjiang region.

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Bach defends IOC's role in Peng case, addresses boycotts

GENEVA - International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach has defended the organization's handling of its contact with tennis player Peng Shuai, who disappeared from public view after making a sexual assault accusation against a powerful Chinese official.

After the IOC Executive Board meeting on Wednesday, Bach failed to provide further clarity over what is happening to Chinese player Peng as Beijing prepares to host the Winter Olympics, addressing her seemingly stage-managed appearances in two video calls with IOC representatives it said took place on Nov. 21 and Dec. 1.

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Entrepreneur Maezawa arrives at ISS as 1st Japanese civilian

BAIKONUR, Kazakhstan - Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa arrived at the International Space Station aboard a Russian Soyuz spacecraft launched from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Wednesday, becoming the first Japanese civilian to stay on the space station.

The Soyuz spacecraft carrying the 46-year-old founder of major online fashion retailer Zozo Inc. lifted off at 12:38 p.m. and docked with the ISS after a six-hour journey, with Maezawa due to stay for 12 days until Dec. 20.

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Japan in talks with Pfizer about expedited vaccine delivery: Kishida

TOKYO - Japan has been in talks with U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. about the possibility of moving up the schedule to receive its COVID-19 vaccine doses as the nation steps up its booster shot drive, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday.

Japan is due to receive 120 million doses for 2022 from Pfizer, which said Wednesday a third shot of its coronavirus vaccine could offer sufficient protection against the new Omicron variant of the virus.

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Strong quake jolts Kagoshima Pref. island chain in southwest Japan

TOKYO - A strong quake jolted an island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, southwestern Japan, on Thursday but no tsunami warning was issued and there have been no reports of injuries or serious damage.

The magnitude-6.0 quake, which hit at around 11:05 a.m., measured upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 on Akuseki Island, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The focus was at a depth of 20 kilometers, with the epicenter in waters near the Tokara island chain.

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Japan's Empress Masako turns 58, expresses high hopes for daughter

TOKYO - Japan's Empress Masako on the occasion of her 58th birthday Thursday expressed hopes that her daughter Princess Aiko, who recently came of age, would "grow step by step" to successfully fulfill her duties as an adult member of the imperial family.

"The 20 years since Aiko's birth seem to have been both long and fleeting, but I am deeply moved by the many memories that come to mind," the empress said in a statement released by the Imperial Household Agency.

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Japan PM Kishida backs Taiwan's WHO attendance

TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday threw his support behind Taiwan's attendance at the annual meeting of the World Health Organization's decision-making body as an observer, a move China has opposed.

Taiwan is excluded from most international organizations due to opposition from China, which regards the democratically governed island as one of its provinces and not a country.

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Toyota, Honda sued for patent infringements by U.S. firm

NEW YORK - Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. have been sued by an American patent holding company alleging about a dozen patent infringements over their use of communication technologies for connected cars, sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.

On Oct. 19, Intellectual Ventures Management LLC filed lawsuits with federal district courts in Texas against the two Japanese firms and U.S. automaker General Motors Co. concerning the use of in-vehicle Wi-Fi networks, among other claims, they said.

==Kyodo

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