The arrival lobby of Kansai International Airport is seen with few people on Nov. 30, 2021, following a ban on entry by foreign nationals due to the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus. (Mainichi/Kenji Ikai)

       TOKYO -- As infections with the coronavirus omicron variant are being reported across Japan, the country's first case that could pose a high risk of community transmission was recently confirmed. Experts suspect that community spread is already happening and are raising the alarm about the new variant, which has been globally reported to be highly transmissible and has high risks of reinfection.

       "I suppose it can be said that for the recent case, we got a handle on it midway, while it also was halfway community transmission," said a senior Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry official, after a Tokyo resident in her 20s who returned from the United States was found infected with the omicron variant. On Dec. 17, a man in his 20s who is recognized as a close contact of the woman was also confirmed infected. He watched a soccer match at a venue where many people gathered on Dec. 12, after he had developed a fever.

       According to the health ministry, a total of 50 cases of infection with the omicron variant have been confirmed within Japan, including cases detected at airport quarantine stations. On Dec. 17 alone, 14 omicron infections were confirmed. Japan announced its first omicron case on Nov. 30, following the infection of a Namibian diplomat in his 30s who entered Japan from Namibia. A series of omicron infections have been subsequently confirmed among individuals who entered Japan after departing from African countries including the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Mozambique, as well as the United States, Italy, Peru and elsewhere.

       There have also been a considerable number of cases where individuals have been confirmed infected in settings other than inspections conducted when they enter the country. A Gifu prefectural resident in his 40s that had been aboard the same flight as a man in his 50s, who tested positive for COVID-19 during airport quarantine inspections, was also confirmed to have been infected with omicron on Dec. 11. The Gifu resident was a close contact of the man in his 50s, and found out he was also infected during his isolation period at home. A quarantine official at west Japan's Kansai International Airport who was working at an accommodation and recovery facility for those who've tested positive for COVID-19 when they entered Japan has also been confirmed with omicron infection. Various cases of infections with the omicron variant have been reported one after the other.

       Many of the individuals in these cases had already received two vaccine shots, and the cases are thought to be breakthrough infections, in which people inoculated twice for the coronavirus still contract it. While there were multiple people who developed a fever or other symptoms, there were also quite a few asymptomatic cases.

       Meanwhile, the Japanese government's border control measures are also close to reaching their limit. The government enforced restrictions on Nov. 30 which in principle ban new entries by foreign nationals, and has carried out quarantine measures for Japanese people who return to the country, as well as have them isolate at home for 14 days. It expanded the scope of countries requiring quarantine measures, and as of Dec. 15, arrivals from around 70 countries and regions have been placed under isolation measures -- up from the initial 23. However, these measures do not guarantee that the individuals will actually keep themselves isolated at home.

       An individual affiliated with the prime minister's office said, "The border control measures were a means to buy time to prepare for moving up the schedule for booster shots. This was able to be fulfilled to a certain extent." However, the government is walking a tightrope in securing accommodation facilities to take in arrivals from foreign countries.

       Infection risks have been growing ahead of the height of the winter season, and if the omicron variant, which is said to be highly transmissible, spreads via community transmission, experts strongly fear that this may lead to a spread of infections that is worse than this past summer's "fifth wave."

       Satoshi Hori, professor of infection control science at Juntendo University's graduate school in Tokyo, commented, "There is the possibility that the omicron variant had been spreading around the world one or two months before South Africa reported it to the World Health Organization. It may have already entered Japan (earlier) via a third country." Regarding the situation moving forward, he said, "It can be thought that the omicron variant will trigger a sixth wave, leading to a spread of infections happening on the largest scale. If oral medicine launched next year proves to be effective, and the omicron variant is found to be of low pathogenicity, the health care system will less likely be strained, but the situation is unpredictable at this point."

       Tetsuya Matsumoto, professor at the International University of Health and Welfare and an expert on infectious diseases, raised alarm, saying, "The next couple of months are a critical stage to prevent the spread of the omicron variant during the year-end and cold period when viruses are transmitted more easily."

       If omicron infections spread within Japan, moves to reinforce spectator caps at events and limitations on the size of groups that can enter eateries will inevitably emerge. The Japanese government for the time being plans to ascertain the lethality of the omicron variant, and will be confronted with various difficulties moving forward.

       (Japanese original by Aoi Hanazawa, Political News Department and Naomi Hayashi, Lifestyle and Medical News Department)

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