Kyodo News Digest: July 25, 2025
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Bessent says U.S. to prod China to pause Russia, Iran oil purchases
WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday that his delegation will stress the importance of China pausing its purchases of Russian and Iranian oil in a meeting with Chinese officials next week in Sweden.
Bessent said in a Fox Business interview that he believes the United States can move on to such issues concerning China, given that trade is now "in a good place."
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Top Japan, S. Korea diplomats to pursue stable development of ties
TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya and his new South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun agreed Thursday to work together to promote the stable development of bilateral relations and maintain close communication, Japan's government said.
During their phone talks, Iwaya and Cho also affirmed the importance of cooperating not only bilaterally and also trilaterally with their common ally, the United States, "under the current strategic environment," according to the Foreign Ministry.
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11 Thai civilians killed in armed clashes at Thai-Cambodian border
BANGKOK/PHNOM PENH - Armed clashes broke out between Thailand and Cambodia in a disputed border area Thursday morning, marking the latest flare-up since May, with Thai authorities saying at least 12 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
The Thai government and army said the 11 civilian deaths included an 8-year-old boy, with a Thai soldier also killed, and that more than 20 others, along with seven soldiers, were injured by Cambodian artillery.
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Sony to take stake in Bandai Namco in anime business partnership
TOKYO - Sony Group Corp. will take a 2.5 percent stake in major Japanese toymaker Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. for 68 billion yen ($464 million) as they joined hands in the anime business, the two companies said Thursday.
The Japanese tech conglomerate plans to expand anime works and products based on intellectual property copyrighted by Bandai Namco through the partnership.
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Japan gov't panel approves human embryo creation using iPS cells
TOKYO - A Japanese government panel on Thursday broadly agreed to allow the creation of human embryos using eggs or sperm derived from pluripotent stem cells such as iPS cells, but only for research purposes into matters such as infertility and hereditary diseases.
According to a report compiled by the expert panel on bioethics, the culture period of such embryos would be limited to a maximum of 14 days, as with conventional fertilized egg research, and implantation into a human or animal uterus would be prohibited.
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Russian plane carrying dozens crashes in Far East, no survivors
MOSCOW - A Russian Angara Airlines plane carrying nearly 50 people crashed in the country's Far East on Thursday, with an investigation committee saying no survivors have been found, Tass news agency said.
No Japanese nationals were on board, according to the Japanese Consulate General in Khabarovsk.
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Sumo: Onosato survives against Ichiyamamoto, stays 1 win off pace
NAGOYA - New yokozuna Onosato stayed one win off the pace at the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament following a lucky escape against joint overnight leader Ichiyamamoto on Thursday.
The 25-year-old grand champion won a rematch with the No. 8 maegashira after the ringside officials could not determine a clear winner in the day's final scheduled bout, which was initially awarded to Ichiyamamoto.
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Video: Junglia Okinawa theme park readies for July 25 opening
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