The Latest Breaking News from Yomiuri Shimbun

WASHINGTON -- A clear takeaway from the latest 2-plus-2 talks of the Japanese and U.S. foreign and defense ministers was the shift toward reinforcing the defense of the Nansei Islands.

Police nationwide are compiling and analyzing social media postings that might indicate future attacks on dignitaries, The Yomiuri Shimbun has learned, spurred by the fatal shooting of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe six months ago.

Aiming to eradicate dubious organ transplants overseas, five medical associations plan to issue a joint statement as early as Tuesday, according to sources.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida hopes to visit the United States in January for a summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, and he "isn't considering" dissolving the House of Representatives soon for a general election, Kishida said in an exclusive interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun on Thursday.

Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Kentaro Sonoura resigned from the House of Representatives on Wednesday over a political funds scandal, dealing a fresh blow to the administration of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

SHANGHAI/BEIJING -- Novel coronavirus infections are spreading rapidly in China following Beijing's altering of the nation's zero-COVID policy designed to contain the disease. The Chinese government puts the number of COVID-related deaths for December at four as of Sunday, but the figure clearly does not reflect the actual situation.

ESASHI, Hokkaido -- Birth control was only proposed "as an option" at group homes for residents with intellectual disabilities and residents agreed to it themselves, according to the director of the social welfare corporation that operates the homes.

THE HAGUE -- A recent report by a Spanish NGO has drawn renewed attention to the activities of so-called Chinese "overseas police" service stations, which monitor Chinese democracy activists and others living abroad.

Books by elderly women describing how to enjoy life with ingenuity and without spending much money have recently become popular in Japan.