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

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U.S. defense chief to visit S. Korea, Philippines within weeks

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin will visit South Korea and the Philippines within a few weeks to step up cooperation with the two countries, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.

Austin will meet with senior government and military officials during the trip, which will be a "reaffirmation of our deep commitment to working in concert with allies and partners to chart our shared vision to preserve a free and open Indo-Pacific," according to Pat Ryder, press secretary of the Defense Department.

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LDP lawmakers to set up group to promote Japan's defense exports

TOKYO - Some lawmakers of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party will set up a group to help accelerate the Japanese government's efforts to expand defense-related exports, a source close to the matter said, despite reluctance shown by its coalition partner.

The group, to be launched as early as this month, will advocate a review of "three principles," the nation's strict guidelines on the overseas transfer of defense equipment and technology under its postwar pacifist Constitution, the source said.

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China's population shrinks for 1st time in over 60 years

BEIJING - The population of mainland China shrank for the first time in 61 years, government data showed Tuesday, with the East Asian nation estimated to have already been overtaken by India as the world's most populous nation amid a continued fall in the birthrate and a rapidly aging society.

The population of China, excluding Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao, reached 1,411.75 million by the end of 2022, down 850,000 from the previous year, the government said. The figure compares with India's population of 1,412 million in 2022, estimated by the United Nations.

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Renault in final-stage talks to lower stake in Nissan to 15%

TOKYO - Renault SA is in the final-stage of talks with Nissan Motor Co. to lower its stake in its Japanese partner to 15 percent from the current 43 percent, sources close to the matter said Tuesday, in a major overhaul of their decades-old capital alliance.

Renault Chief Executive Officer Luca de Meo plans to meet with Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida in Japan as early as Jan. 26, aiming to reach an agreement on the review of their capital alliance dating back to 1999, the sources said.

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New BOJ chief pick likely to be submitted to parliament in Feb.

TOKYO - The government is considering submitting to parliament an appointment plan for the next Bank of Japan governor, likely on Feb. 10, ruling party sources said Tuesday.

The current term of Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who took the helm at the central bank in 2013, ends in April. The government will also seek approval for new deputy governors, whose appointments will likely be submitted at the same time, the sources said.

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Top U.S. diplomat to visit China in early February: report

WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken will visit China on Feb. 5-6 and meet with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Beijing, U.S. political news website Politico reported Monday.

The upcoming trip by the top U.S. diplomat is a follow-up to summit talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping in Indonesia in November.

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Japan used car registrations in 2022 hit new record low

TOKYO - Used car registrations in Japan in 2022 hit a record low for the second consecutive year, down by 6.3 percent from the previous year at 3,495,305 units, data from the Japan Automobile Dealers Association showed Tuesday.

Registrations have been on the decline for three years running due to an ongoing semiconductor shortage leading to less production of new units, impacting the number of vehicles that enter the secondhand market through consumer tradeoffs and other means.

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Singapore tourist arrivals to recover to pre-pandemic level by 2024

SINGAPORE - Singapore's tourism authority on Tuesday projected tourist arrivals to the city-state to recover to pre-pandemic levels by next year.

The Singapore Tourism Board said international visitor arrivals in 2022 reached 6.3 million, about a third of the pre-pandemic level.

==Kyodo

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