As Covid-19 cases rise in Japan, anger grows in Okinawa at US military personnel

Japan’s Okinawa region appeared to be the epicentre of a new coronavirus surge with cases more than doubling on Wednesday from the previous day, with officials looking to re-impose movement restrictions that were lifted in late September last year.

New infections in the southern prefecture jumped to about 600 from 225 on Tuesday, an Okinawa official said, its highest tally since last year when Japan experienced its fifth and biggest wave of Covid-19 cases.

Across Japan, the Omicron variant is spreading, with about 295 cases of community transmission recorded as of Monday. About three in 10 of these, or 88 cases, were reported in Okinawa, which has 1.5 million residents.

Anger is growing towards US military personnel at bases in the prefecture who are partially blamed for the new surge in infections. There were 164 new cases linked to military bases on Tuesday, bringing the tally from the latest outbreak to some 1,000 infections among service members and dependents at nine bases across the prefecture.

Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki has filed a request with the US military for personnel to be confined to their bases until the outbreak can be brought under control again. US authorities have stated they are making progress in containing the outbreak but have declined to restrict the movement of troops.

“I’m outraged because the sharp increase in cases among US military personnel suggests that their management is insufficient,” Tamaki said at a press conference in the prefectural capital of Naha on Sunday.

“I urge both the Japanese and US governments to have a strong sense of alarm that [the spread of Covid-19 in Okinawa is being caused by] a systemic problem,” he added.