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

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Japan, U.S., S. Korea to seek swift info sharing on N. Korea missiles

TOKYO - Japan, South Korea and the United States are arranging to hold working-level defense talks in Washington in mid-April to pave the way for enabling real-time information sharing about North Korea's ballistic missile launches, a government source said Wednesday.

Last year, the leaders of the three countries agreed to take steps to swiftly share information about Pyongyang's missile firings, but Tokyo, Seoul and Washington have yet to begin a full-fledged discussion, as bilateral ties between Japan and South Korea remained unstable.

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Teens made up over 40% of Japan child porn offenders in 2022: police

TOKYO - Japan's police agency said Thursday that 44.1 percent of the 2,053 offenders in child pornography-related criminal cases last year were aged between 14 and 19, nearly double the share in 2013.

A further 60 percent of the 905 people suspected of committing child porn crimes in the age group were high school students, according to revised data from the National Police Agency.

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Japanese head of WHO regional office fired for misconduct

GENEVA - The World Health Organization said Wednesday it has terminated the contract of the Japanese chief of its Western Pacific office after an internal investigation "resulted in findings of misconduct."

The WHO did not release details, but Takeshi Kasai had been suspended as regional director for the Western Pacific since August after allegations of racist and abusive behavior toward staff members at his office in Manila.

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Japan Oct.-Dec. GDP growth cut to annualized 0.1% on consumption

TOKYO - Japan's economy expanded an annualized real 0.1 percent in October to December, downgraded from an increase of 0.6 percent reported earlier, the Cabinet Office said Thursday, as private consumption growth was slower than initially thought.

Real gross domestic product growth, adjusted for inflation, stood at 0.02 percent on a quarterly basis, revised down from 0.2 percent. GDP is the total value of goods and services produced in a country.

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Police close case on attack on sociologist Miyadai, no motive found

TOKYO - Police have concluded their investigation into a knife attack last November on Japanese sociologist Shinji Miyadai at a university campus in Tokyo, referring the case of the deceased suspect to prosecutors Thursday without determining a motive.

Minoru Kuramitsu, 41, was posthumously referred to prosecutors on suspicion of attempted murder for the knife attack on Miyadai, a sociologist known for his work on controversial topics, at Tokyo Metropolitan University's Minami-Osawa campus in Hachioji on the evening of Nov. 29.

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Japan's lower house OKs academic Ueda as next BOJ governor

TOKYO - The House of Representatives on Thursday endorsed the appointment of academic Kazuo Ueda as the next Bank of Japan governor, succeeding Haruhiko Kuroda.

Following approval by the lower house, which is controlled by Japan's ruling parties, the House of Councillors is also expected to give its go-ahead on Friday. The lower chamber also approved two deputy governor nominees.

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Football: Maeda, Furuhashi goals give Celtic comeback win over Hearts

GLASGOW, Scotland - Japan forward Daizen Maeda scored the leveler and Kyogo Furuhashi the winner, his 20th league goal of the season, as Celtic came from behind to defeat Hearts 3-1 at home in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday.

Hearts got the lead through Josh Ginnelly's sixth-minute header but Celtic equalized in the 25th minute when Maeda slid home Furuhashi's first-time cross from the right at Celtic Park.

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U.S. eyes new framework on nuclear deterrence with Japan, S. Korea

WASHINGTON - The United States is considering establishing a new framework to boost nuclear deterrence against North Korea with Japan and South Korea, sources with knowledge of the plan said Wednesday.

The U.S. government has already sounded out its two major Asian allies about the idea, which comes as North Korea ramps up its development of long-range missiles and nuclear weapons, according to the sources.

==Kyodo

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