Photo/Illutration The U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni in Iwakuni, Yamaguchi Prefecture, front. (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

Three Americans associated with a U.S. military air base who flouted quarantine procedures after arriving in Japan from the United States tested positive for the coronavirus, Yamaguchi prefectural authorities said on July 14.

The trio took polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests upon entry at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, but before they even received the results, they flew to Iwakuni Airport on a commercial flight to report to the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, officials said.

Defense Minister Taro Kono said late July 14 the people in question had made a “false declaration” by promising quarantine officers at the airport that they would hire a rental car for the journey to Iwakuni and not use public transport.

Kono expressed "extreme alarm” at the situation.

He also said he has asked U.S. military authorities to take severe disciplinary action.

The trio are apparently a family consisting of a man and a woman in their 40s with a girl younger than 10 years old, according to the prefectural government and the defense minister.

They arrived at Haneda Airport from the United States on July 12. After undergoing PCR tests at a quarantine station, they were requested to stay at a hotel in the vicinity of the airport.

But after spending the night at a hotel, they took a commercial flight to Iwakuni Airport the following morning.

When the test results came back that afternoon, with positive readings, the trio had already arrived in Iwakuni city.

According to Kono, government officials tried to contact the family on the basis of information they provided when they entered the country, but officials could not reach them.

Officials started to investigate their whereabouts and travel history only to discover they had already left Tokyo.

The U.S. military said it would impose strict punitive measures.

Kono indicated the government will ask the passengers who were on the same flight and suspected of being in close contact with the three in question to take PCR tests.

The U.S. military at Iwakuni base announced on July 14 it finished its contact tracing investigation to determine who the three people had been in contact with at the base.

The three are now in isolation inside the facility, and the U.S. military has assessed that the risk of further infections is low.

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