Kishida Resumes Official Duties after Sinus Surgery

Tokyo, Feb. 13 (Jiji Press)--Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida resumed official duties Monday after undergoing endoscopic surgery for chronic rhinosinusitis two days before.

"(My physical condition) seems to be recovering steadily," Kishida told reporters upon entering the prime minister's office shortly after 2:30 p.m. (5:30 a.m. GMT) from his official residence nearby. "I'm sorry for causing worries. I will perform official duties vigorously."

Kishida was initially scheduled to move to the prime minister's office Monday morning for returning to work. He changed plans, however, and spent the morning checking documents, among other things, at the official residence.

His planned speech in Tokyo on Monday afternoon was replaced by a prerecorded video message. The prime minister still "finds it difficult to speak for a long time," a source close to Kishida said.

In the video message, Kishida vowed to "take every precaution to stay in good physical condition in order to be able to deal with a mountain of challenges" facing the country.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]