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

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Japan approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for children aged 5-11

TOKYO - Japan's health ministry on Friday approved the administration of Pfizer Inc.'s coronavirus vaccine to children aged between 5 and 11 as the nationwide case count continues to climb with the rapid spread of the Omicron variant.

It is the first COVID-19 vaccine made available in Japan for that age group. Inoculations will begin as early as March after specifics, including guidelines, are worked out, according to officials.

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Japan faces putting majority of 47 prefs. under COVID quasi-emergency

TOKYO - A majority of Japan's 47 prefectures have come under or are moving to seek restrictions on restaurants and bars to cope with surging coronavirus infections, with 12 more areas including Osaka set to seek quasi-state of emergency declarations by the central government in coming days.

Osaka, Kyoto and Hyogo in western Japan as well as Hokkaido and Shizuoka in northern and central Japan, respectively, were due to request the measure Friday after the country saw a new record for daily coronavirus cases for a third straight day, with the figure topping 46,000 Thursday.

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Japan, U.S. to launch ministerial talks on economy

TOKYO - Japan and the United States have decided to launch regular ministerial talks on economic and environmental issues in an attempt to boost bilateral cooperation amid China's rise, government sources said Friday.

The launch of the framework, akin to the so-called two-plus-two security talks involving the countries' foreign and defense chiefs, is expected to be agreed by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and U.S. President Joe Biden when they hold a virtual summit later in the day, according to the Japanese government sources.

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Fed takes "first step" over discussions on issuing digital currency

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Federal Reserve said Thursday it is taking the "first step" in discussions about issuing its own digital currency, as it released a report saying potential benefits include helping preserve the dominant international role of the dollar.

The report, the first of its kind by the Fed, did not draw a conclusion on launching a central bank digital currency but instead focused on the pros and cons of issuing one.

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Fuel costs lift Japan's December core CPI by 0.5% on year

TOKYO - Japan's core consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in December from a year earlier, driven by higher fuel costs and a weak yen that have threatened to cool consumer sentiment, government data showed Friday.

The nationwide core consumer price index has been in a tug-of-war between higher energy prices, including for crude oil, and sharply lower mobile data fees, which fell 53.6 percent in December following reductions by major carriers amid government pressure.

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Japan, U.S. urge world leaders to visit A-bombed Hiroshima, Nagasaki

TOKYO - Japan and the United States on Friday urged world leaders to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombings in World War II, as they aim to build momentum toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

"Recalling the visit by former President (Barack) Obama to Hiroshima, Japan and the United States call on political leaders, youth, and others to visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki to raise and sustain awareness," the two governments said in a joint statement, referring to the former U.S. president's historic visit in 2016.

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Land ministry officials punished over statistics-tampering scandal

TOKYO - The Japanese land ministry on Friday punished 10 officials in connection with a decades-long rewriting of statistics that may have led the country's gross domestic product figures to be miscalculated.

Vice Minister Kunihiro Yamada and nine other officials received punishments such as pay cuts and reprimands, while land minister Tetsuo Saito will voluntarily return four months pay as well as a bonus.

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Doomsday Clock remains 100 seconds to "catastrophe" for 3rd year

WASHINGTON - A group of scientists and scholars on Thursday left the "Doomsday Clock" at a position 100 seconds from midnight, saying the world is "no safer than it was last year" from threats of nuclear war and climate change.

"This decision does not, by any means, suggest that the international security situation has stabilized," said the experts who advised the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists journal in setting the hands of the symbolic clock located at the University of Chicago.

==Kyodo

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