NHK led with a report on the demonstrations in France over fuel price increases. NTV, TV Asahi, TBS, and Fuji TV all reported extensively on the first day of the trial of a prominent “road rage” incident last year that resulted in the deaths of a couple and the injury of their two children.

Major front-page items included Okinawa’s strong opposition to the GOJ’s decision to begin pouring earth into the Henoko reclamation site on Dec. 14, the Abe administration’s plan to convene a regular Diet session in late January with an eye on holding Upper House elections on July 21, and updates on the controversy over the arrest of former Nissan Chairman Carlos Ghosn. Sankei claimed that Tokyo prosecutors are expected to seek fresh arrest warrants against Ghosn and his aide Greg Kelly on charges of understating Ghosn’s income in annual stock disclosure reports from FY2015 through FY2017. The two suspects were initially arrested for similar charges covering five years through FY2014.