Kyodo News Digest: July 6, 2025
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Japan right-wing leader's remarks on foreigners may be hate speech
FUKUOKA - Naoki Hyakuta, leader of the minor right-wing opposition Conservative Party of Japan, made remarks on Saturday that could be construed as hate speech, criticizing foreign workers during a national election campaign.
Foreign workers "disrespect Japanese culture, ignore the rules, assault Japanese people, and steal their belongings," Hyakuta, a former novelist, said in a stump speech ahead of the July 20 House of Councillors election.
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Japan's 1st rocket launch with foreign capital delayed by typhoon
KUSHIRO, Japan - Japan's first launch of a rocket developed with foreign capital has been delayed from Sunday due to an approaching typhoon, the operator of a private spaceport in Hokkaido said.
Space Cotan Co., which operates the spaceport in Japan's northernmost prefecture, said the launch has been postponed to the following Saturday or later, as the typhoon could hinder ship-based monitoring and debris recovery in the event of an emergency.
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About 80% of Japan local gov'ts have used drones at disaster sites
TOKYO - Around 80 percent of Japan's 47 prefectures and 20 major cities have used drones at disaster sites, a Kyodo News survey showed Saturday, underscoring growing recognition of unmanned aircraft as an effective disaster response tool.
Momentum for drone utilization has been spurred in part by their role in last year's earthquake that struck the hard-to-reach Noto Peninsula in central Japan, where they delivered supplies to isolated communities and assessed damage from the air.
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Monkey King stars as China's 1st Legoland opens in Shanghai
SHANGHAI - China's first Legoland opened in Shanghai on Saturday, featuring eight areas themed on such characters as the Monkey King from the classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West" as well as an expansive replica of the local cityscape made of Lego bricks.
The amusement park spanning 318,000 square meters in the suburbs of Shanghai is the 11th globally. Visitors can enjoy more than 75 interactive rides, shows and attractions in addition to thousands of models made with over 85 million Lego bricks.
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Quake not connected to viral manga prediction: Japan weather agency
TOKYO - Japan's weather agency said an earthquake that rattled small islands in the country's southwest on Saturday was in no way connected to a manga author's disaster prediction that went viral on social media and even affected inbound tourism.
"It is absolutely a coincidence. There is no causal connection," Ayataka Ebita of the Japan Meteorological Agency said at a press conference on the day the prediction was supposed to materialize -- a claim authorities have repeatedly dismissed as a "baseless rumor."
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Boy with measles visited Osaka Expo, officials urge caution
OSAKA - A boy from Kanagawa Prefecture near Tokyo who tested positive for measles visited the World Exposition in Osaka on June 21, local governments said Saturday, urging other visitors to exercise caution due to possible exposure.
The local governments said the boy, identified only as being between the ages of 10 and 19, may have come into contact with an unspecified number of people at the venue. He was there from around 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., visiting at least eight pavilions, including those of the European Union and Cambodia.
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Rugby: Test debutants spur Japan to 24-19 comeback win over Wales
KITAKYUSHU, Japan - Debutants Ichigo Nakakusu and Halatoa Vailea scored second-half tries and flyhalf Lee Seung Sin was flawless with the boot as Japan came back for a 24-19 win against Wales in the first match of their two-test series on Saturday.
Both sides gave error-strewn performances, but it was the hosts who rallied late to overcome a 19-7 halftime deficit and open their international season with a gritty victory at a sweltering Mikuni World Stadium Kitakyushu in southwestern Japan's Fukuoka Prefecture.
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Video: Lantern festival takes place in quake-hit central Japan town
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