Tokyo Urges US To Strengthen COVID-19 Measures On Its Bases In Japan - Foreign Ministry

TOKYO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 06th January, 2022) Japanese Foreign Minister Hayashi Yoshimasa called on US military leadership to boost measures against the coronavirus amid a sharp surge in cases on the territory of American military bases in Japan.

"Minister Hayashi called on the US military command to strengthen and carefully observe measures to prevent the spread of the virus, including a ban on leaving the base, to alleviate concerns of the local population amid the latest coronavirus situation," the ministry said in a statement after Yoshimasa's phone conversation with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The latter outlined his intention to make all possible efforts to prevent the further spread of the virus, the statement read.

The call follows the controversy around the Camp Hansen base stationed in the southern Japanese prefecture of Okinawa, where a cluster of coronavirus infections, including the Omicron strain, was confirmed in late 2021.