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

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3-meter tsunami reached nuclear plant after powerful Japan quake

TOKYO - A tsunami measuring about 3 meters high reached the Shika nuclear power plant in Ishikawa Prefecture following a powerful earthquake that shook central Japan last week but caused no major safety problems, its operator said Tuesday.

According to Hokuriku Electric Power Co., the tsunami reached the facility at about 5:45 p.m., approximately 90 minutes after a 7.6-magnitude quake hit the region on New Year's Day.

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Japan announces emergency safety steps after Tokyo airport collision

TOKYO - The transport ministry announced emergency safety steps on Tuesday following a deadly plane collision at Tokyo's Haneda airport, clarifying the information that air traffic controllers can provide to planes to prevent any miscommunication.

In the accident, which occurred a week ago and involved a Japan Airlines jetliner and a coast guard aircraft, the tower traffic controller told the coast guard plane it would be "No. 1" to take off, possibly leading the captain to wrongly assume he was cleared to enter the runway where the collision happened.

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N. Korean leader calls S. Korea "principal enemy," state media says

TOKYO - North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has classified South Korea as his nation's "principal enemy" and the state "most hostile" toward Pyongyang, the country's official media reported Wednesday.

Kim stated the labels during an inspection of major munitions factories on Monday and Tuesday, according to the Korean Central News Agency.

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Japan, Finland vow to promote security cooperation

HELSINKI - The foreign ministers of Japan and Finland agreed Tuesday that the countries will further promote security cooperation, as the international order has been shaken by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

At a joint press announcement after their meeting in Helsinki, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said she and her Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen shared Tokyo's "Nordic diplomacy initiative" to strengthen collaboration in various fields with Northern European nations significantly

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U.S. defense chief has prostate cancer, Biden didn't know until Tue.

WASHINGTON - U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has been diagnosed with prostate cancer, and his hospitalization since the start of this year was due to an infection following a surgical procedure to treat the disease, a military hospital said Tuesday.

A senior White House official said President Joe Biden was not aware that Austin had cancer "until this morning" and that the root cause of his hospitalization was the disease.

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Japan farm, fisheries exports in 2023 on track despite China ban

TOKYO - Japan's agricultural, fisheries and forestry product exports for 2023 are likely to have reached the same record high level as 2022, government data showed Tuesday, despite China's import ban on Japanese marine products over wastewater discharge from the crippled Fukushima nuclear plant.

Exports for the January-November period rose 2.8 percent from a year earlier to 1.28 trillion yen ($8.9 billion), supported by an expansion of sales destinations outside of China, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said.

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China seeks greater unity with Global South nations: top diplomat

BEIJING - China's top diplomat Wang Yi said Tuesday that Beijing is eager to promote unity with developing and emerging countries in the "Global South," saying the Asian power will "share our destiny" with them and fulfill responsibilities as a major nation.

Speaking at a Beijing seminar on China's diplomacy, Wang noted the expansion of BRICS membership that was agreed on last year will "more effectively enhance the representation and voice" of the Global South in international affairs.

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Taiwan presidential hopeful Lai vows to keep cross-strait status quo

TAIPEI - Taiwanese Vice President Lai Ching-te, the presidential candidate of the island's ruling party, vowed Tuesday he would maintain the status quo in the Taiwan Strait if elected and remain open for engagement with Beijing on the basis of equality and dignity.

Voters in the self-ruled democracy will go to the polls on Saturday to pick the successor of the incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen. Beijing, which aims to bring the territory into its fold by force if necessary, has slammed Lai as an advocate of "Taiwan independence" and a "troublemaker" who seeks to drive the island to war.

==Kyodo

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