January 14, Friday, 2022 (1:30 p.m.) Newsline read by Ms. Keiko Kitagawa

1.Former Japanese Prime Minister Kaifu Toshiki has died at the age of 91. He was best-known for sending Japan’s Self-Defense Force to an overseas mission for the first time. Kaifu served as a cabinet minister twice before becoming the country’s prime minister in 1988. He was Japan’s first leader born in the Showa era.
2.More than 20, 000 new coronavirus infections were confirmed across Japan on Friday. The surge in cases, which is attributed to the Omicron variant, is spurring authorities to consider how to maintain social and economic activity.
3.The Japanese government says North Korea has launched what is believed to have been a ballistic missile. This is the third time Pyongyang has fired a projectile this year. The government has lodged a protest with North Korea through diplomatic channels in Beijing.