Japan

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Sunday said the Group of Seven nations had agreed a united approach to China that called for diversifying supply chains to reduce dependence on one country, and hinted that he could speak with China's president soon.

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 21 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden and House Republican Speaker Kevin McCarthy will meet to discuss the debt limit on Monday after a "productive" phone call as the president headed back to Washington, the top House Republican leader said on Sunday.

McCarthy, speaking to reporters following the call, said there were positive discussions on solving the crisis and that staff-level talks were set to resume later on Sunday.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — The Group of Seven wealthy democracies united in urging China to pressure its strategic partner Russia to end its war on Ukraine and resolve territorial disputes peacefully, and China lashed back.

In a joint statement, the G7 leaders emphasized they did not want to harm China and were seeking “constructive and stable relations” with Beijing, “recognizing the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China.”

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy huddled with some of his biggest backers as the Group of Seven summit closed in Hiroshima on Sunday, building momentum for his country’s war effort even as Russia claimed a symbolic victory on the battlefield.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol prayed together Sunday at a memorial for Korean victims of the 1945 atomic bombing in Hiroshima on the sidelines of the Group of Seven summit, as the two leaders continued efforts to mend ties repeatedly hurt by disputes stemming from Japan’s wartime brutality.

Yoon was in Hiroshima with leaders from seven other guest nations and G7 countries for “outreach” sessions on Sunday, the last day of the three-day summit.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — President Joe Biden said Sunday that Republicans in the U.S. House must move off their “extreme positions” on the now-stalled talks over raising America’s debt limit and that there would be no agreement to avert a catastrophic default only on their terms.

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Sunday that Russian forces weren’t occupying Bakhmut, casting doubt on Moscow’s insistence that the eastern Ukrainian city had fallen.

Responding to a reporter’s question about the status of the city at the Group of Seven summit in Japan, Zelenskyy said: “Bakhmut is not occupied by the Russian Federation as of today.”

TOKYO, May 20 (NNN-NHK) – Major Japanese companies raised wages by an average 3.91 percent, following this year’s spring wage negotiations, marking the largest jump in 31 years, Japan’s biggest business lobby said, yesterday.

The average wage hike was equivalent to 13,110 yen (95 U.S. dollars) per month, up 5,680 yen from the previous year, according to preliminary data, from Japan Business Federation, also known as Keidanren.

HIROSHIMA, Japan, May 20 (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron on Saturday called Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's visit to Japan for the Group of Seven (G7) summit a "game changer," as the two met for talks on the sidelines of the event.

"I think this is a unique opportunity to (have) exchanges with a lot of countries from the south and express your situation, express a message and share a view. I do believe it can be a game changer," Macron said.

Macron added that France will be with Ukraine "to the very end".

HIROSHIMA, Japan (AP) — This weekend’s summit of the Group of Seven leading industrial nations in Hiroshima provides a rare — and possibly final — chance for survivors of the atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki to push for nuclear disarmament before a global audience.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has roots in Hiroshima, chose the city in part to highlight nuclear nonproliferation efforts, which have been shaken by Russia’s nuclear threats against Ukraine and rising aggression from nuclear-armed China and North Korea.