Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi expressed “deep regret” that a unit of Marines was not tested for COVID-19 before it arrived on Okinawa aboard a U.S. government flight.
Visiting Kadena Air Base on Sunday, Japanese cabinet member said he would pressure the U.S. military to take more thorough mitigation measures and “ease the concern of local people.”
The Marine Corps joined the rest of uniformed services this week and began offering government-funded morale flights between Okinawa and Seattle so Marines and their families may visit loved ones in the U.S.
The three-day quarantine, or restriction of movement, relieved U.S. military travelers of hefty hotel costs and allowed them to complete their ROM at their homes in Japan.
The cancellation of a flight program follows Japan’s decision to close its borders Tuesday to most new incoming foreign travelers through the end of December.