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

----------

Toyota shareholders reappoint chairman Toyoda amid testing scandals

NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. shareholders on Tuesday approved a proposal to reelect Chairman Akio Toyoda to the board despite investment advisories urging a vote against him following a recent series of safety test scandals at the leading Japanese automaker group.

At the annual shareholders' meeting at its headquarters in Aichi Prefecture, nine other board members, including President Koji Sato and Vice Chairman Shigeru Hayakawa, were also reappointed.

----------

Koike, rival Renho clash over child policies in Tokyo governor race

TOKYO - Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike and her biggest rival, opposition-backed lawmaker Renho, clashed over how to tackle the declining birthrate as they finally unveiled their pledges for next month's gubernatorial election on Tuesday, just two days before official campaigning starts.

Koike, a conservative politician, promised to take child-rearing policies such as helping reduce rent for families, establishing subsidies for painless childbirth and waiving day-care fees for first children, instead of only for the second child onwards as is the current policy.

----------

Visiting Putin vows to oppose sanctions in conjunction with N. Korea

BEIJING - Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an article published in North Korean state media ahead of his arrival later Tuesday that Moscow and Pyongyang will jointly circumvent international sanctions by deepening bilateral economic and trade cooperation.

In the article published on the front page of the Rodong Sinmun, North Korea's official newspaper, the Russian leader said the two countries will develop alternative systems of trade and mutual settlements that are "not controlled by the West" and jointly resist "unilateral and illegal measures."

----------

N. Korean soldiers intrude across border again: S. Korean military

SEOUL - South Korea's military said Tuesday that a group of North Korean soldiers crossed the inter-Korean border briefly and that South Korean troops fired warning shots, following a similar crossing earlier this month.

An official from the military said the North Korean soldiers returned after the warning shots and that the incursion seemed unintentional.

----------

Japan to toughen screening of social media ads amid investment scams

TOKYO - The Japanese government decided Tuesday to call on social media operators to toughen the screening of ads on their platforms amid a growing number of false investment ads using fake endorsements from celebrities.

The measure is part of a government crackdown on a surge in social media scams soliciting investments, with the operators being urged to create guidelines for the vetting of ads and disclose such criteria.

----------

Myanmar-born Morisaki captures life's beat in directorial debut

TOKYO - Myanmar-born singer-actor Win Morisaki was exuberant after winning the top prize Monday at one of Asia's biggest short film festivals for a musical short depicting Japan's oft-forgotten elderly population.

"I never thought I would receive (such a) prize, so I am genuinely extremely happy. I am truly overwhelmed with surprise and my heart is full," the 33-year-old entertainer said in an exclusive interview with Kyodo News after the win.

----------

Premium travel service launched using Honda's small passenger jet

TOKYO - A Japanese travel agency said Tuesday it has launched a premium domestic travel service using Honda Motor Co.'s small business aircraft, the HondaJet.

Honda separately said it began its "HondaJet Sharing Service" this month with its corporate partners, adding that it will consider independently offering flight packages to the general public in the future.

----------

Heavy rain hits wide areas of Japan, disrupts bullet train services

TOKYO - Heavy rain battered wide areas of Japan on Tuesday, disrupting bullet train services between Tokyo and Osaka and prompting the weather agency to urge caution for landslides and floods.

An eastward-moving front and a low-pressure system on the Pacific Ocean side of the Japanese archipelago brought heavy rainfall of over 50 millimeters per hour in areas such as Kochi and Shizuoka prefectures, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire