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Price cap on Russian oil to be about half of current price: Japan PM

Jul 04 (Kyodo) - The price cap to be imposed on Russian oil to punish Moscow for its invasion of Ukraine is expected to be around half the current purchase price, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Sunday.

Referring to a joint communique released after a summit of the Group of Seven developed nations late last month, Kishida said during a stump speech in Tokyo that a mechanism would be designed so that Russian oil "will not and cannot be bought at a higher price" than the cap.

The communique said an oil price cap scheme could include options such as enabling transportation of Russian seaborne crude oil and petroleum products globally only if the oil is purchased at or below a specified price.

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Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper roofing panels were stolen from several shrines in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka Prefecture, including a city-designated cultural property, in the latest case amid a nationwide surge in copper thefts targeting shrines and temples across Japan, where soaring metal prices have fueled crimes that leave historic religious buildings damaged, exposed to the elements, and facing repair costs of millions of yen.

Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

Uncertainty surrounding the situation in the Middle East is beginning to affect daily life in Japan, as concerns over crude oil supplies spread to restaurants, cleaning services and even household garbage disposal systems across the Kansai region.

A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare has released an assessment of passive exposure to heated tobacco products, saying that while harmful substances in the air increase when such products are used indoors, the link with cancer risk cannot be determined at this stage.

Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi and South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met on May 19th and agreed to strengthen cooperation in both economic and security fields, highlighting growing alignment between the two countries as instability spreads across the Middle East and uncertainty deepens over the future direction of U.S.-China relations.

As the prolonged disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz continues to strain global energy markets, differences are emerging between how Japan and South Korea are responding to the growing risk of fuel shortages and rising prices.

Three people, including two Japanese nationals, were injured after a man carrying a knife forced his way into a Japanese restaurant in Shanghai, China, on May 19th, according to local authorities.

The government will hold a cross-ministerial meeting on May 18th to discuss measures to address risks associated with high-performance artificial intelligence (AI).

The University of Tokyo's annual campus festival, known as the May Festival, resumed suspended events on May 17th after disruptions caused by a bomb threat the previous day, with long lines forming outside the main gate as visitors underwent newly introduced baggage inspections.

South Korea’s presidential office announced on May 17th that Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will be welcomed with treatment “equivalent to that of a state guest” during her visit to South Korea beginning May 19th.

Executives from U.S.-based AI company Anthropic, which developed the artificial intelligence system "Claude Mythos" that has raised concerns over potential misuse in cyberattacks, visited the headquarters of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on May 16th for discussions on possible cooperation.