Kyodo News Digest: June 2, 2022

People drink at a bar in Shanghai in the early hours of June 1, 2022, as the Chinese city lifts its two-month-long lockdown, allowing around 90 percent of its residents to leave home and public transport to restart. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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

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Japan prefecture OKs restart of Fukushima-type reactor

MATSUE, Japan – Shimane Prefecture in western Japan approved Thursday a plan to restart a nuclear reactor of the same type as those that suffered meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi plant following the massive 2011 earthquake and tsunami.

The green light for the No. 2 unit at Chugoku Electric Power Co.’s Shimane nuclear plant in the prefectural capital of Matsue was announced by Gov. Tatsuya Maruyama in a prefectural assembly session.

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South Korea’s ruling party wins majority of key local elections

SEOUL – South Korea’s ruling People Power Party on Thursday was declared the winner of most of the key local elections held the previous day, boosting the momentum for President Yoon Suk Yeol following his razor-thin victory in the March presidential election.

Of the 17 contested metropolitan mayoral and gubernatorial posts the PPP secured 12, including mayor of Seoul with the re-election of Oh Se Hoon for a fourth term.

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Toshiba gets 8 proposals for privatization from potential partners

TOKYO – Toshiba Corp. said Thursday it has received 10 business strategy proposals from potential partners, eight of which recommend that the Japanese conglomerate go private to raise its corporate value.

The remaining two offers for Toshiba were capital and business alliances under which shares of the troubled technology giant with a nearly 150-year history would continue to be listed.

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Court orders TEPCO compensation over Fukushima crisis

FUKUSHIMA, Japan – A Japanese court on Thursday ordered the operator of the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to compensate current and former residents of Tamura City in the west of the complex hit by the March 2011 disaster for emotional distress.

While the amount of damages awarded is not immediately known, a total of 545 plaintiffs had demanded about 6 billion yen ($46 million) in total, or 11 million yen per person, from Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. and the Japanese government

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Japan mulls alternative to visa-free visits to Russian-held isles

TOKYO – Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Thursday said he will seek an alternative to a visa-free visit program to Russia-controlled, Japan-claimed islands off Hokkaido as it remains stalled since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Kishida made the remarks when he met with Hokkaido Gov. Naomichi Suzuki and a group of former residents of the islands, who called for the program’s resumption.

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Platinum jubilee celebrations begin for Britain’s Queen Elizabeth

LONDON – Celebrations to mark 70 years since the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II began Thursday in London, with a traditional military parade.

The parade, known as Trooping the Color, kicked off a series of special events running through the weekend to celebrate the platinum jubilee.

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S. Korea, Japan remain apart over survey near disputed isles

SEOUL – South Korea and Japan remained apart on Thursday over a marine survey Seoul conducted off disputed islets within Japan’s exclusive economic zone, at a time when the countries are seeking to mend their strained relations.

Takehiro Funakoshi, director general of the Japanese Foreign Ministry’s Asian and Oceanian Affairs Bureau, lodged a further protest over the survey off the islets, which are controlled by South Korea but claimed by Japan, during his talks in Seoul with his South Korean counterpart Lee Sang Ryeol.

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Scandal-hit Nihon Univ. to appoint author Hayashi as chairwoman

TOKYO – Tokyo’s Nihon University plans to appoint award-winning author Mariko Hayashi to head its board in an effort to revamp its leadership after a series of scandals involving a former board chairman, sources close to the matter said Thursday.

If approval is granted at a board meeting Friday, Hayashi, 68, a graduate of the school who is scheduled to take up the post July 1, would be the first female chair of the board at the university, one of Japan’s largest.