Kyodo News Digest: Japan PM Takaichi Invited to Trump's Gaza Peace Panel

---------- Japan PM Takaichi invited to join Trump's controversial Gaza peace panel TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has been invited by U.S. President Donald Trump to join a new international body he has proposed to oversee the reconstruction of Gaza, the Foreign Ministry said Tuesday. Takaichi is considering whether to take part in Trump's "Board of Peace," a ministry official said. The board has stirred controversy as some fear its role could be expanded to include other conflicts and that it could eventually be an alternative to the United Nations. ---------- Most main opposition lower house members to join Japan's new centrist party TOKYO - Japan's newly formed party pitching "centrist" policies will be joined by all but four of the 148 House of Representatives members from the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, a senior CDPJ official said Tuesday. Together with 24 members of Komeito, which left the previous ruling coalition, and a few other lawmakers, the Centrist Reform Alliance is expected to emerge as a roughly 170-member opposition group in the 465-seat lower house, positioning itself as the main challenger to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party in the Feb. 8 general election. ---------- Sightseeing helicopter goes missing in southwest Japan, crash suspected KUMAMOTO, Japan - A sightseeing helicopter went missing Tuesday near a volcanic crater on Mt. Aso in Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Japan, with wreckage later found in the area, local firefighters and other sources said. Two passengers, a man and a woman from Taiwan, and the 64-year-old Japanese pilot were aboard the helicopter, which departed at 10:52 a.m. from a zoo in Aso. Contact was lost about 10 minutes later, according to the helicopter operator, Takumi Enterprise, in Okayama, western Japan. ---------- Japan court to hand down ruling on shooter of ex-PM Abe NARA, Japan - A Japanese court will issue a ruling Wednesday on the man charged in the fatal shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in 2022, with the case shedding light on the Unification Church's aggressive donation solicitations and its political links. Prosecutors have demanded a life sentence for Tetsuya Yamagami, 45, calling the act of killing the former state leader by a handmade firearm during a stump speech in the western Japan city of Nara "an unprecedented crime." ---------- Japan climate impact report warns of falling rice quality, more floods TOKYO - The quality and quantity of rice in Japan are expected to decline and flooding is set to increase if urgent action is not taken to mitigate climate change, an assessment compiled by the Environment Ministry showed Tuesday. The report, which scientifically analyzes the effects of global warming on daily life and industry in Japan, found that 65 percent of 80 items across seven sectors would be significantly impacted, while 68 percent require particularly urgent action. ---------- Sony to spin off TV business into joint venture with Chinese maker TCL TOKYO - Sony Corp. said Tuesday it will spin off its home entertainment business into a joint venture with major Chinese television maker TCL Electronics Holdings Ltd. as it seeks to boost its global competitiveness. TCL will hold a 51 percent stake in the venture, with Sony, a wholly owned subsidiary and the electronics unit of Sony Group Corp., holding the remaining 49 percent. The new company will continue to use the Sony name and the Bravia TV brand for its products. ---------- Trump boasts accomplishments in marking 1 year back in office WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday boasted a long list of accomplishments since returning to office exactly a year ago, ranging from what he called the restoration of border security and prosperity to improved ties with major American trading partners. Making a rare appearance at a White House press briefing to mark the one-year milestone in his nonconsecutive second term, Trump said, "We've done more than any other administration has done by far." ---------- Ice hotel, chapel in Hokkaido's Tomamu resort area open for season ASAHIKAWA, Japan - A hotel and a chapel housed in dome-shaped structures made from single, seamless pieces of ice opened Tuesday for the winter season in the Tomamu ski resort area in Hokkaido. "We want people to enjoy the cold through the experience," Iwao Watanabe, general manager of Hoshino Resorts Tomamu, said on the annual winter attraction in central Hokkaido, as an outdoor thermometer showed about minus 10 C. ----------