December 30, Thursday, 2021 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1. Weather officials are warning of more heavy snow, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast from northern to western Japan, as a winter pressure pattern is expected to intensify again.
2. A group of researchers in Japan says its animal experiments have suggested that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus may be less pathogenic than Delta.
3. Japan’s Prime Minister Kishida Fumio has called for all-out anti-infection measures against the coronavirus in a video message ahead of the New Year holiday season.