Broadcasters led with reports on the heavy rain in the Kanto region (NHK) and the first case of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 confirmed in Japan yesterday (NTV, TBS, Fuji TV, TV Asahi).  

All national dailies except Nikkei gave top play to Japan’s first case of the Omicron variant. Nikkei led with a report on a 13.9% drop in Japan’s working-age population over the past five years.