Kyodo News Digest: Aug. 13, 2023

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

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Over 80% of Japan firms forecast economic growth as COVID curbs removed

TOKYO - Over 80 percent of major companies in Japan expect the country's economy to expand in the next one year, supported by a recovery in personal consumption following the removal of COVID-19 restrictions, a Kyodo News survey showed.

In the survey of 114 companies, including Toyota Motor Corp. and the Uniqlo clothing chain operator Fast Retailing Co., 82 percent said they project economic expansion, up from 55 percent the previous summer, when firms were concerned over price surges.

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Hawaii wildfires deadliest in modern U.S. history, death toll hits 93

KAHULUI, Hawaii - The death toll in fires in Maui, Hawaii, climbed to 93, local authorities said Saturday, marking the deadliest wildfire in the United States in over a century.

At least 2,207 structures have been damaged or destroyed and 2,170 acres have been burned by the blaze that started Tuesday on the island, according to the Federal Emergency Management Agency's damage assessment as of Friday.

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Western, central Japan brace as Typhoon Lan to make landfall Aug. 15

TOKYO - A strong typhoon is expected to make landfall Tuesday in western and central Japan, with the weather agency warning of heavy rain and related mudslides and flooding during the country's annual Bon summer holidays.

Typhoon Lan is currently traveling south of the Izu island chain and approaching eastern and western Japan, with downpours forecast in these areas from Monday to Tuesday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said Sunday.

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Football: Takefusa Kubo nets Sociedad's 1st goal of season in draw with Girona

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain - Takefusa Kubo scored Real Sociedad's first goal of the Spanish La Liga season on Saturday, netting early in their 1-1 draw against visiting Girona.

Looking to improve on a fourth-place finish last season, the hosts made a bright start to their campaign in front of 30,848 at Reale Arena when Kubo fired them into the lead in the fifth minute.

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Sport climbing: Tomoa Narasaki takes bronze at worlds, gets Olympic berth

BERN - Japanese sport climber Tomoa Narasaki booked a second shot at Olympic gold with a third-place finish in the men's combined boulder and lead event at the world championships Saturday in Bern.

Jakob Schubert of Austria won with a total of 183.6 points, adding to the lead title he won on Aug. 6. Colin Duffy of the United States scored 160.7 for second place, and Narasaki had 156.7 on the final day of the championships in the Swiss capital.

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Skateboarding: U.S. star Nyjah Huston says Japan's Yuto Horigome raising the bar

TOKYO - American street skateboarding superstar Nyjah Huston has credited Japanese Olympic champion Yuto Horigome for raising the sport's level of competition following their latest battle in Tokyo.

The 28-year-old Huston placed third in the inaugural Tokyo round of the Street League Skateboarding championship Saturday at Ariake Arena, where Horigome claimed the title with a dazzling display in front of his home crowd.

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Baseball: Yanagi gem, 10th-inning homers lift Dragons past Carp

NAGOYA - Yuya Yanagi threw nine hitless shutout innings before the Chunichi Dragons won a 10th-inning home run derby to defeat the Hiroshima Carp 2-1 in the Central League on Sunday.

Yanagi left after nine innings in a scoreless game, denying him Japanese pro baseball's 99th no-hit regular season shutout. He did not figure in the decision at Vantelin Dome Nagoya, where three home runs decided the game in extra innings.

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Golf: Nasa Hataoka 5 shots off pace at Women's British Open

TADWORTH, England - Japan's Nasa Hataoka shot a 1-under 71 on Saturday to sit five strokes off the pace in a tie for ninth place after the third round of the Women's British Open.

Lilia Vu of the United States and Charley Hull of England shared the lead at 9 under for the tournament after carding a 67 and 68, respectively, at Walton Heath Golf Club.

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Video: Awadori dance festival in Tokushima

Aug 13, 2023 | KYODO NEWS