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

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Japan enacts law to curb Apple, Google's app dominance

TOKYO - Japan's parliament enacted Wednesday a law to promote competition in smartphone app stores by restricting tech giants Apple Inc. and Google LLC from limiting third-party companies from selling and operating apps on their platforms.

The law will prohibit the providers of Apple's iOS and Google's Android smartphone operating systems, app stores and payment platforms from preventing the sale of apps and services that directly compete with the native platforms' own.

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PM Kishida to lead session on China, Indo-Pacific at Italy G7 summit

TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday left Tokyo for Italy to attend a Group of Seven summit where the Japanese leader intends to lead discussions on China's growing military assertiveness in addition to other security and economic issues.

During the three-day summit from Thursday in Fasano in southern Italy, Kishida will direct discussions on the situation in the Indo-Pacific region, including North Korea, as a "lead speaker" at a G7 session focusing on the topic, a Japanese government official said.

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Tokyo Gov. Koike to run again, setting up high-stakes Renho showdown

TOKYO - Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike said Wednesday she will seek reelection for her third four-year term in July's gubernatorial election, setting the stage for a battle with high-profile opposition lawmaker Renho and a proxy war between the national ruling and opposition parties.

The Tokyo chapter of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided to support Koike, a former lawmaker with the party. The LDP fared poorly in recent elections, with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's Cabinet facing sluggish support rates due to a political funds scandal.

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N. Korea airport shows signs of preparations for Putin visit: report

BEIJING - Signs that North Korea is making preparations for a visit by Russian President Vladimir Putin as early as this week were confirmed at a Pyongyang airport, with planes completely cleared from the tarmac, according to a report Wednesday based on satellite imagery.

NK News, a website that provides news and analysis on North Korea, said the removal of planes is rare and normally associated with visits by a foreign leader, but it could be intended to "make room for Putin's advance team."

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Japan ranks 118th in 2024 gender gap report, still far worst among G7

GENEVA - Japan ranked 118th among 146 countries in the gender gap rankings in 2024, improving slightly from its record low of 125th last year but remaining the lowest among the Group of Seven industrialized nations, the World Economic Forum said Wednesday.

The Swiss think tank's report showed women's participation in Japan remains low in the political and economic arenas, in addition to their income levels remaining comparatively low.

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Toshiba to invest 100 bil. yen in power semiconductors over 3 years

TOKYO - Toshiba Corp. said Wednesday it will invest about 100 billion yen ($636 million) to expand its power semiconductor production over three years through March 2027, aiming to ramp up sales of chips widely used for power control in electric vehicles and industrial devices as part of its turnaround efforts.

The technology conglomerate will increase production capacity for the chips at its factories in Ishikawa and Hyogo prefectures as well as in Thailand to respond to growing demand for use in all-electric cars and other equipment that require active electric current control to optimize efficiency amid the global push for decarbonization.

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2 women arrested for alleged murder of high school girl in Hokkaido

SAPPORO - Two women were arrested Wednesday on suspicion of murdering a high school girl in April by making her fall off a bridge into a river in Hokkaido, northern Japan, police said.

Riko Uchida, 21, and a 19-year-old woman were served with fresh arrest warrants for allegedly causing the girl to fall 10 meters from the girder of a suspension bridge into the water in a mountainous area of Asahikawa on April 19, police said.

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Japan plans to require more firms to disclose gender pay gap data

TOKYO - The government said Tuesday it is considering expanding the scope of companies required to release gender wage gap data, aiming to address the pay disparity between women and men in Japan, one of the biggest among major economies.

Under a policy blueprint to promote women's economic empowerment, all companies with more than 100 employees would be expected to release such data. The scope currently covers firms with over 300 employees, numbering around 17,800 companies.

==Kyodo

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