TOKYO: The Japanese and US governments are considering obliging all US military personnel entering Japan to undergo polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, tests for the new coronavirus, Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono said July 17. 

The measure is under consideration following the spread of COVID-19 infections at US bases in Japan.

The mandatory PCR tests are planned to be conducted on US military personnel assigned to bases in Japan, civilian workers at such bases and their family members, when they leave the United States and when they enter Japan.

Currently, such US military-related people spend a two-week quarantine period before and after directly entering US bases in Japan, aboard military aircraft, chartered planes or other transportation. But they do not undergo PCR tests unless they have coronavirus symptoms.

Meanwhile, Japan conducts PCR testing for US military personnel entering Japan aboard commercial flights.

There are some people who travel without noticing that they are infected with the virus because they have no symptoms, Kono said, underlining the need for conducting PCR tests to prevent infected people with no symptoms from entering Japan.

Concerns over the spread of the virus are growing among residents in Okinawa Prefecture, which hosts the bulk of US military facilities in Japan, as cluster infections occurred among US military personnel stationed in the southernmost Japan prefecture.

JIJI Press