Okinawa, which hosts 70% of US military facilities in Japan, said it recorded 1,829 new coronavirus cases today.

The governor of the prefecture, Denny Tamaki, previously said he was “furious” about what he called inadequate infection controls at US bases that allowed the variant to spread to the public.

Japan has since stepped up coronavirus restrictions in three regions that host US military facilities, which have also announced stricter infection controls.

Though Japan halted the entry of almost all foreign travellers into the country last November, the US military moves staff in and out of the country under a separate testing and quarantine regime.

Public broadcaster NHK said the western prefecture of Osaka was likely to also see record daily cases today exceeding 3,000 cases.