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

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Nikkei stock index ends at all-time high for 2nd day in row

TOKYO - The Nikkei stock index closed at an all-time high Monday for the second consecutive trading day, as buying momentum was supported by expectations for robust corporate performance.

The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 135.03 points, or 0.35 percent, from Thursday at 39,233.71. The broader Topix index finished 12.91 points, or 0.49 percent, higher at 2,673.62, its highest level since February 1990. Japanese markets were closed Friday for a public holiday.

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Teacher fined over 2019 deaths of Japanese teens in Australia

HERVEY BAY, Australia - An Australian court on Monday fined a Japanese teacher AU$55,000 ($36,000) for failing in his duty of care over the drowning of two Japanese schoolboys on a popular tourist island in Australia's east in 2019.

Shinri Minatoya, 61, was one of two teachers accompanying the 16-year-old boys and 13 other students from Kanagawa University High School on a guided group tour at Lake McKenzie, a picturesque freshwater lake on the World Heritage-listed K'gari, formerly known as Fraser Island, in Queensland in March 2019.

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Takarazuka Revue director to quit post after actress's death

OSAKA - The chairman of Hankyu Hanshin Holdings Inc. will step down as a director of Japan's all-female music theater company Takarazuka Revue and its training school following the death of one of its actresses, a source close to the matter said Monday.

Kazuo Sumi's exit as of Thursday is seen as taking management responsibility after Hankyu Hanshin, the revue's parent company, acknowledged the 25-year-old actress had been subjected to harassment and conveyed to the bereaved family his intention to apologize.

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Tuvalu ex-attorney general named new PM, month after ex-PM loses seat

SYDNEY/TAIPEI - Tuvalu's legislature on Monday elected former attorney general and fisheries official Feleti Teo as its new prime minister, the Pacific island nation said, a month after a general election in which pro-Taiwan premier Kausea Natano lost his seat.

Teo, who has visited Taiwan many times, according to the self-ruled island, was elected unopposed by parliamentarians in the capital Funafuti, at a time when some elected Tuvalu lawmakers have called for a review of ties with Taipei, according to local media reports.

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Japan's Moon explorer resumes communication after harsh lunar night

TOKYO - A Japanese explorer that recently landed on the Moon has resumed communication with Earth, the country's space agency said Monday, revealing that the craft has unexpectedly survived the freezing lunar night after a period of dormancy.

"Last night, a command was sent to SLIM and a response received," the mission's team said in a post on X, referring to the Smart Lander for Investigating Moon. The team had previously indicated that SLIM was not designed to endure the frigid lunar night, which lasts for around two weeks with temperatures plummeting to minus 170 C.

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Japan gov't plans to require firms to set paternity leave targets

TOKYO - The Japanese government plans to require companies with over 100 employees to set and disclose paternity leave targets from April 2025 to facilitate fathers' involvement in child-rearing and allow parents to better manage work and family responsibilities, government sources said Monday.

The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare plans to submit a related bill to the ordinary Diet session to implement the measure, covering around 50,000 companies in Japan, the sources said.

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Man's 18-yr sentence upheld for 2017 Japan highway road rage deaths

TOKYO - A Japanese high court upheld Monday a sentence of 18 years in prison for a man convicted of a 2017 road rage incident that killed a couple and injured their two children and caused an outcry that led to tougher punishment of dangerous driving.

The Tokyo High Court rejected the appeal of Kazuho Ishibashi, 32, who was convicted of dangerous driving at a lower court for forcing the car of Yoshihisa Hagiyama, 45, and his family to stop on the passing lane of the Tomei Expressway in Kanagawa Prefecture, near Tokyo, on June 5, 2017, where it was rear-ended by a truck.

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Sumo: Terunofuji determined to win historic 10th title in Osaka

OSAKA - Lone yokozuna Terunofuji said Monday he will do everything in his power to claim his 10th top-level championship at the upcoming Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka.

The Mongolian-born grand champion tops the rankings for the March 10-24 competition at Edion Arena Osaka, where he will aim for his second straight title.

==Kyodo

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