Kyodo News Digest: Nov. 24, 2022

Supporters of Japan cheer ahead of a World Cup Group E football match against Germany at Khalifa International Stadium in Doha on Nov. 23, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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

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Japan rejoices in dramatic soccer World Cup win over Germany

TOKYO – The Japanese public rejoiced Thursday after Japan claimed a dramatic comeback win over Germany at the soccer World Cup in Qatar, with crowds taking to the streets and hitting up bars in celebration across major cities, a sight unseen since the novel coronavirus pandemic.

Young people dressed in Samurai Blue uniforms exchanged high-fives on a major crossing in Tokyo’s Shibuya entertainment district around midnight, while bars were flooded with fans in a celebratory mood following the 2-1 victory in the tournament’s Group E opener.

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Bank of Japan plans to experiment digital yen with megabanks next spring

TOKYO – The Bank of Japan plans to start testing the feasibility of a digital yen with major Japanese commercial banks next spring, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.

The experiment, which will allow ordinary consumers to participate, is aimed at checking whether money deposits and withdrawals via bank accounts at commercial banks can be carried out smoothly with the use of a central bank digital currency, the sources said.

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5-yr-old boy rescued after 45 hours under debris in Indonesia quake

CIANJUR, Indonesia – Indonesian firefighters on Wednesday rescued a 5-year-old boy who had been trapped under the debris of his house for some 45 hours after a deadly earthquake hit Java Island.

The death toll from Monday’s magnitude 5.6 quake, meanwhile, rose to 271, with 151 others missing and some 2,000 injured, as search operations continued.

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Malaysia’s Anwar set to be named PM after UMNO rejects his rival

KUALA LUMPUR – Anwar Ibrahim, opposition leader and former deputy prime minister, is set to take the premiership of Malaysia after the former ruling party United Malays National Organization said Thursday it would not back a rival political alliance to Anwar’s to form a unity government.

UMNO, the linchpin of the National Front coalition popularly known as BN, played a key role in breaking the deadlock after Saturday’s general election ended in a hung parliament.

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China sees record daily COVID cases of nearly 30,000 amid lockdowns

BEIJING – China reported Thursday a record of nearly 30,000 daily coronavirus cases in the mainland, as the government continues to implement its stringent “zero-COVID” policy involving lockdowns in some areas.

New cases stood at 29,754 on Wednesday, according to the National Health Commission, the highest figure since it began releasing the number in the spring of 2020.

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South Korea’s central bank lifts key rate to 3.25%, 6th consecutive hike

SEOUL – South Korea’s central bank raised its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 percentage point to 3.25 percent on Thursday to battle high inflation amid a global economic slowdown.

The Bank of Korea’s monetary policy board has now lifted rates six times since August last year in its effort to boost the economy as it recovers from the coronavirus pandemic and tame inflation.

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Japan mulls creating new defense body for fighting cyberattacks

TOKYO – Japan is considering creating a new organization to lead the country’s fight against cyberattacks, with control over units of its defense and police forces coping with such attacks, government sources said Wednesday.

The government seeks to arrange in fiscal 2024 a new security budget covering the envisioned body, which expands on the role of the existing National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, or NISC, they said.

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Otter praised for predicting Japan’s shock World Cup win vs. Germany

TOKYO – A river otter at a Tokyo aquarium received fervent online praise by Japanese fans for predicting a shock victory by Japan against four-time champion Germany at their opening match of the World Cup on Wednesday in Qatar.

Taiyo, an 8-year-old male at the Maxell Aqua Park Shinagawa, had expressed his choice for the Samurai Blue the day before by putting a miniature soccer ball in the blue bucket with the Japanese flag, snubbing a red one with the German flag and a yellow one that was labeled “draw.”