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

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Yen sinks to 154 range vs dollar for 1st time in 34 years

NEW YORK - The yen fell below the 154 line against the U.S. dollar on Monday in New York for the first time in nearly 34 years on receding expectations that the U.S. Federal Reserve will cut interest rates soon amid signs of persistent inflation.

The value of the Japanese currency depreciated against the dollar after Tokyo trading and hovered in the lower 154 range throughout the day in New York, levels last seen in June 1990, after hitting 154.45.

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Japan vows to promote strategic, mutually beneficial ties with China

TOKYO - Japan pledged to pursue strategic and mutually beneficial relations with China in its annual foreign policy report released Tuesday, even as the two countries remain at odds over various issues, while recognizing the importance of dialogue.

The 2024 Diplomatic Bluebook said Japan will promote a "mutually beneficial relationship based on common strategic interests" with China, using the wording last seen in the 2019 report, although the neighboring country poses "an unprecedented and the greatest strategic challenge."

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U.S. court begins historic criminal trial of ex-President Trump

NEW YORK - A New York court opened an unprecedented criminal trial of a former U.S. president on Monday as Donald Trump faced the first of the four cases in which he has been indicted.

The trial, expected to last one to two months before a jury reaches a verdict, concerns an alleged coverup of hush money paid on his behalf to a porn star ahead of the 2016 presidential election.

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TEPCO begins loading nuclear fuel into idle Japan reactor

NIIGATA, Japan - Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. started loading nuclear fuel into a reactor on Monday at an idle plant northwest of Tokyo as part of preparations to potentially restart the facility.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority granted approval earlier in the day for the loading of the No. 7 reactor at the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa plant in Niigata Prefecture. However, the timing of the restart remains uncertain.

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Marcos keen on Japan's SDF joining U.S.-Philippine exercises

MANILA - Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Monday he would welcome the participation of the Japanese Self-Defense Forces in joint military exercises between his country and the United States.

Having Japan regularly join drills, including the large-scale Balikatan exercise, in the future, and not merely as an observer, would be a "good move" to ensure that their armed forces can work together to "maintain the peace and stability and freedom of navigation" in the South China Sea, Marcos told a forum with Manila-based foreign correspondents.

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Singapore deputy PM Wong to succeed PM Lee in May: gov't

SINGAPORE - Singapore Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong will succeed Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong on May 15, the Prime Minister's Office said Monday of the city-state's first leadership change in nearly 20 years.

Wong, who doubles as finance minister, was named as the successor to Lee in 2022 and will become Singapore's fourth prime minister since it became independent in 1965.

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Nihon Univ. student falls to death, autopsy finds cannabis in system

TOKYO - A Nihon University student died after falling from the rooftop of a building in Tokyo, with an autopsy finding traces of cannabis in his urine, investigative sources said Monday.

The 20-year-old, a member of the school's dance club, was found after a passerby notified police of a person lying on the ground near the building on Saturday morning, according to the sources.

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Baseball: Triple Crown slugger Murakami moves forward on own terms

TOKYO - Two years after producing one of Japanese pro baseball's greatest offensive seasons, Munetaka Murakami is too busy moving forward in his own way to try and replicate the magic of his 2022 Triple Crown campaign for the Central League's Yakult Swallows.

The 24-year-old third baseman is expected to move from Japan's majors to America's in 2026, but before that he is focused on making across-the-board improvements after a disappointing 2023.

==Kyodo

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