Japan’s Kishida says virus measures, defense top priorities

By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press

TOKYO (AP) — Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has told parliament that fighting the pandemic and strengthening defense are his government’s top priorities. Kishida delivered a speech opening this year’s parliamentary session hours after North Korea test-fired two possible ballistic missiles — its fourth tests this month. He urged Japanese companies to promote remote work, and called on schools to flexibly use online classes. The highly transmissible omicron variant has driven infections higher in Japan and started to paralyze medical and public services in some areas, as more people are forced to self-isolate. Japan last week trimmed its 14-day quarantine period to 10 days.