TOKYO: The Japanese health ministry said Monday that the country has confirmed its third case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

The omicron strain was detected in a man in his 30s who has a record of staying in Italy, the ministry said.

The man has been isolated since his entry to Japan on Wednesday and will be treated at a hospital. The ministry has not disclosed his nationality.

According to the ministry, he arrived at Tokyo’s Haneda airport on Wednesday via Frankfurt Airport from Rome, Italy. He tested positive for the coronavirus upon arrival in Japan, and genome sequencing showed that he had the omicron variant.

The man is asymptomatic and was inoculated with Moderna Inc.’s vaccine twice in July-August.

The ministry is checking the health conditions of 41 passengers who took the same flight from Frankfurt and were identified as close contacts of the man.

Of them, one tested positive for the virus, but not the omicron variant, according to the ministry.

Japan confirmed its first omicron case in a Namibian diplomat in his 30s who entered the country from the southern African nation on Nov. 28. The country’s second omicron case involved a man in his 20s from Peru.

JIJI Press