TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Japanese chipmaker Kioxia, Sandisk to spend 5 tril. yen to boost output
TOKYO - The top executive at Japanese chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp. said Thursday that the company and its partner Sandisk Corp. plan to spend 5 trillion yen ($31 billion) over the next six years to boost memory chip production, as demand linked to the artificial intelligence boom remains strong.
Kioxia President Hiroo Ota said his company's joint venture with the U.S. memory chipmaker will build a new plant at a cost of 1.8 trillion yen at its Kitakami site in Iwate Prefecture, northeastern Japan.
----------
Japan lawmakers meet senior China official amid row
BEIJING - Two Japanese lawmakers met a senior Chinese Communist Party official on Thursday, with both sides viewing the first such encounter since bilateral relations deteriorated last November as a step toward "creating an environment for normalizing ties," according to one of the lawmakers.
House of Representatives member Shinichi Isa of the Centrist Reform Alliance, Japan's main opposition party, told reporters that Lu Kang, vice minister of the Chinese Communist Party's International Department, underlined during a two-hour meeting that China will not change its Japan policy unless Tokyo corrects its view on the Taiwan issue.
----------
Japan keeps view on economy for Aug., cautions about quake, rain impact
TOKYO - The Japanese government retained the view Thursday that the economy is recovering at a moderate pace in its monthly assessment for August but called for caution over the impact of the recent massive earthquake in southwestern Japan and torrential rain near Tokyo.
"Attention should be given to the impact of the situation in the Middle East and natural disasters," the Cabinet Office said in the monthly economic report, in the wake of a magnitude 7.1 earthquake that struck southwestern Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture and heavy rain that hit Chiba Prefecture.
----------
BOJ deputy chief calls for more rate hikes as market bets Sept. lift
SAITAMA, Japan - The Bank of Japan should continue to raise its key policy rate, BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino said Thursday, stressing the weaker yen's impact on inflation, with his comments coming as the market widely expects a rate hike at the next policy meeting in September.
"We should pay greater attention to the upside risk to prices than in the past," Himino said at an event in Saitama, near Tokyo, citing higher crude oil prices stemming from the Middle East conflict, rising semiconductor prices driven by the increase in global AI-related demand, and the recent yen's fall as factors.
----------
China's Wang seeks to "overcome obstacles" before Xi-Trump summit
BEIJING - China's top diplomat Wang Yi on Thursday stressed the importance for Beijing and Washington to "overcome obstacles" to high-level bilateral exchanges as he met a U.S. envoy before a summit between the countries' leaders expected in September, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said.
Wang told U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue the bilateral relationship "still faces various risks and challenges," adding that the world's two largest economies should "focus on a positive agenda" and "properly manage differences" to ensure "stable, healthy and sustainable development" of their ties.
----------
Heavy rain batters central Japan, causing landslides, flooding
TOKYO - Heavy rain battered parts of central Japan on Thursday, causing landslides and flooding with a series of reports of cars becoming submerged and calls for rescue.
The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a special heavy rain warning for some areas in Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures, with residents warned to evacuate or take immediate steps to ensure their safety amid life-threatening conditions.
----------
Tokyo Toy Show kicks off with nostalgic, new products for all generations
TOKYO - Japan's major toy trade fair opened Thursday in Tokyo with nostalgic favorites and trend-driven new products featuring themes such as investing and digital technology, targeting not only children but people of all ages as the market grapples with the country's declining birthrate.
Featuring some 35,000 products from 185 companies based in Japan and abroad, Tokyo Toy Show 2026 comes as the toy market reached a record 1.16 trillion yen ($7.3 billion) in fiscal 2025, up 6.3 percent from the previous year, according to the Japan Toy Association.
----------
Sumo: Stablemaster casts doubt on yokozuna Hoshoryu's Autumn participation
MITO, Japan - The chance of yokozuna Hoshoryu taking part in the Autumn Grand Sumo Tournament in September is in doubt after he underwent right knee surgery in late July, his stablemaster said Thursday.
Hoshoryu is yet to win an Emperor's Cup in nine meets since earning promotion to yokozuna ahead of the Spring meet in March last year. The Mongolian-born grand champion has pulled out during a tournament four times in that period, including the last two.
