Japan confirms third case of Omicron variant

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno speaks at a news conference at the prime minister's office on December 6. On December 6, Koichi Ueda Japan confirmed its third infection case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus, a male arrival in his 30 s who had stayed in Italy, but declined to release further details.

Chief Cabinet secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a news conference that his infection with Omicron was confirmed by genome sequencing at the National Institute of Infectious Diseases.

The third case follows previous cases of male passengers arriving at Narita Airport in their 30 s from Namibia and 20 s from Peru.

The health ministry will announce details later, and we are investigating further, Matsuno said.

He said that he will not reveal the nationality of the third infection case on the basis that the government announces information only if it helps prevent infections from spreading. We would like to continue monitoring, boosting efforts for border control and genome sequencing, and taking appropriate anti-virus measures thoroughly, Matsuno said.