Kyodo news summary -1-.

TOKYO, Aug. 26 Kyodo

---------- Noda mulls replacing his party's No. 2 man

TOKYO - Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is considering replacing Azuma Koshiishi, the party's secretary general and No. 2, if Noda is reelected as DPJ  leader in September, because Koshiishi opposes Noda's plan to soon call a general election, DPJ sources said Saturday.

By removing Azuma Koshiishi from the post, Noda could better prepare to dissolve the lower house of parliament for a subsequent general election, as he has promised opposition party leaders to do "sometime soon" in exchange for their support in passing the consumption tax hike legislation earlier this month, they said.

---------- Ex-PM Abe hopes for progress in Japan-N. Korea talks

TOKYO - Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said he welcomes the resumption of inter-governmental talks between Japan and North Korea and hopes to see fruitful results from the talks to be conducted for the first time under the leadership of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.

In a recent interview with Kyodo News ahead of the resumption of the talks in Beijing on Wednesday after a lapse of four years, Abe said the Japanese delegation should have its own firm strategy so as not to get caught out by North Korea.

---------- Armstrong, first man to set foot on Moon, dies at 82

WASHINGTON - Neil Armstrong, who became a global hero in 1969 when he took a "small step" to became the first person to set foot on the moon, died Saturday, his family said. He was 82.

Armstrong died following complications resulting from coronary bypass surgery in early August, the family said.

---------- Republican convention to be shortened due to hurricane concerns

TAMPA, Florida - The U.S. Republican Party said Saturday it has decided to effectively delay the start of its national convention in Tampa, Florida, by one day due to safety concerns over the approaching Tropical Storm Isaac.

The Republican National Convention will convene on Monday, its originally scheduled starting date, but immediately recess until Tuesday afternoon, the party committee said in a statement.

---------- Powerful typhoon to rip through Okinawa

TOKYO - One of the most powerful typhoons in many years, packing gusts of up to 252 kilometers per hour, was on course to rip through Okinawa's main island on Sunday, with the Japan Meteorological Agency warning it could bring record rain and wind to the region.

As of noon, Typhoon Bolaven was 160 km east-southeast of Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, traveling northwest at a speed of 15 kph with an atmospheric pressure of 910 hectopascals at its center.

---------- Anti-Japan protests occur in 2 China cities

BEIJING - Anti-Japan protests took place Sunday in two Chinese cities, asserting Beijing's sovereignty over the Japan-administered Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea.

Marking the second straight weekend of anti-Japan events in China, a demonstration in Zhuji, Zhejiang Province, involved about 1,000 people while another in Haikou, Hainan Province, drew a few hundred people.