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

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Italian luxury fashion brand Prada and U.S. startup Axiom Space Inc. unveiled Wednesday the design of a spacesuit they are developing in collaboration, which will be used for NASA's Artemis Moon exploration program that includes Japan.

The suit covers the entire body in white material for protection against high temperatures and fine sand, with red lines adding a striking design element. Two Japanese astronauts are expected to stand on the Moon wearing the spacesuit.

While reminiscent of a group-stage defeat at the last World Cup, a 1-1 home draw against Australia in 2026 qualifying provided a fair reflection of Japan's progress since.

After making a perfect start with three straight wins and clean sheets in their Asia final-round qualifying for the next World Cup, the Samurai Blue were the favorites against the Socceroos, whose setup suggested they knew their task ahead, especially in just their second game under a new manager.

Women accounted for 16.1 percent of executives at Japan's top-listed companies, a survey by its top business lobby showed Wednesday, up 2.8 percentage points from the previous year and moving steadily toward the government's goal of at least 30 percent by 2030.

But women who were internally promoted to board members made up just 3.4 percent, or fewer than 300, of the total, highlighting the need for companies to enhance training programs to help female workers advance their careers to top positions.

Japan's public broadcaster NHK said Wednesday it will contract entertainers from Starto Entertainment Inc., the successor to the scandal-hit male talent agency Johnny & Associates Inc., after deeming measures to compensate the victims of sexual abuses by its late founder are progressing.

The decision, effective the same day, includes allowing performers from the agency to appear on the network's year-end live music show "Kohaku Uta Gassen," or red and white song battle, NHK President Nobuo Inaba said at a press conference.

South Korea, Japan, and the United States said Wednesday that they have launched a body to replace a U.N. panel previously tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions on North Korea, aimed at curbing its nuclear and missile development.

The new organization involves the participation of 11 countries that also includes France, Britain and Germany, the three countries said.

Spending by foreign visitors to Japan reached 5.8 trillion yen ($39 billion) in the first nine months of 2024, surpassing the full-year record of 5.3 trillion yen set in 2023, the Japan Tourism Agency said Wednesday.

The outcome reflects a 54.7 percent jump in the number of foreign tourists to Japan, reaching 26.9 million during the same period, according to separate data from the Japan National Tourism Organization, an affiliate of the agency.

BREAKING NEWS: Foreign visitor spending in Japan through Sept. surpasses all of 2023

==Kyodo

BREAKING NEWS: S. Korea, Japan, U.S. to launch body to monitor N. Korea sanctions

==Kyodo

The aging No. 1 reactor of the Takahama nuclear power plant in central Japan was given the all clear by the nuclear regulator Wednesday to continue operations, making it the first reactor in the country to get approval to operate beyond 50 years.

The Nuclear Regulation Authority gave the green light to Kansai Electric Power Co.'s management plan for the next 10 years for the reactor, which marks its 50th anniversary next month, as the government considers nuclear power vital in the resource-poor country's energy mix.

Two giant panda bears from China arrived Tuesday at the U.S. national zoo in Washington, less than a year after Americans bid a fond farewell to three of the rare species.

The arrival of the new pair of 3-year-old giant pandas, Bao Li and Qing Bao, comes at a time when relations between the two countries remain fraught with tensions. The Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute said the bears are scheduled to go on view for the public on Jan. 24.

A town in the western Japan prefecture of Tottori, faced with a staff shortage, introduced an online poll observer on Wednesday for the general election's early voting in what it believes to be a first for the country.

The step by the town of Nambu comes as the prefectural government has been striving not to reduce the number of polling stations due to a lack of poll monitors amid an aging and declining population.

Do restaurants in your country display replica foods? 

BREAKING NEWS: Nikkei briefly drops over 2%

==Kyodo

China criticized Tuesday an idea put forward by new Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba for a NATO-like security structure in Asia, urging Tokyo to "stop engaging in exclusive military alliances" and "be cautious in its words and deeds" in the field of security.

Chinese Defense Ministry spokesman Wu Qian said in a statement Japan has "hyped up the non-existent 'China threat' in an attempt to divert the international community's attention" from its military expansion and that Beijing "firmly opposes" this.

Record-high 314 women filed their candidacy Tuesday for the upcoming general election, while hereditary politics continued to play a large role within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

The number of female candidates for the Oct. 27 House of Representatives election was up from the previous record of 229 in the 2009 lower house poll, as both the LDP and the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan ramped up their support for them.

Voters in Ishikawa Prefecture, struck by a strong earthquake on the Noto Peninsula on New Year's Day, are calling for government support for swift reconstruction, but some have lamented that "now is not the time for elections" given the region was also hit by record heavy rainfall last month.

At the Wakura Onsen hot spring resort in Nanao, one of the areas significantly affected by the Jan. 1 earthquake, staff from shuttered "ryokan" inns and others in the tourism industry listened to stump speeches by candidates in the upcoming House of Representatives election, advocating for reconstruction.

The Italian pavilion for the 2025 World Exposition has gained inspiration from Renaissance ideals of urban planning, featuring a theater, square and garden, while the famous Farnese Atlas statue will serve as the crown jewel of the exhibition.

The 2.1-meter tall marble sculpture of Atlas holding up a celestial sphere -- which dates back to the 2nd century -- will be on display in Japan for the first time.

North Korea blew up parts of inter-Korean roads on its side of the border on Tuesday, according to South Korea's military, destroying what was once a symbol of the two Koreas' cooperation.

"North Korean forces conducted explosions, presumably to block the inter-Korean roads" in Gyeongui and Donghae around noon, South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff said.

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

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Winger Keito Nakamura came off the bench to force an own-goal equalizer as Japan drew 1-1 with Australia and saw their perfect start to the Asian final round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers come to an end at home on Tuesday.

After bagging 14 goals without conceding through the first three Group C matches, the Samurai Blue were in control but lacked a cutting edge against a well-organized Socceroo side, who took the lead against the run of play through center-back Shogo Taniguchi's own goal in the 58th minute at Saitama Stadium.

China's space authorities pledged to begin searching for extraterrestrial life and habitable planets both within and beyond the solar system in a mid- to long-term plan released Tuesday.

The China National Space Administration also said the Asian country aims to become a global leader in the field by 2050 by assembling top international scientific talent and establishing a major world science center and a hub for innovation.