Photo/Illutration People wait in line to take a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward on Dec. 28. (Nobuo Fujiwara)

The central government is expanding its free COVID-19 testing program to prevent the Omicron variant from spreading just as Japanese head to their hometowns for the New Year's holidays.

The Cabinet Secretariat said that Tokyo and 13 prefectures have implemented the new program as of Dec. 28 and the number is expected to increase.

In the capital, 160 pharmacies operated by Welcia Yakkyoku Co. have started offering free tests under the government’s program.

But at some stores, demand has exceeded capacity.

A 45-year-old company employee stopped by a Welcia store near his workplace in Chiyoda Ward at around noon on Dec. 28 hoping to get tested, but he was told by staff, “It’s all booked already.”

“It overlaps with the holiday season, and it appears that more people are getting tested to feel safe before returning to their hometowns,” a company representative said.

A test site run by a private company at Haneda Airport was swamped with people.

A 21-year-old college student who lives in Yokohama said he took a test before boarding an evening flight to Miyazaki Prefecture to visit his family “because I can feel safe by taking a test before going home.”

According to the Cabinet Secretariat, as of 3 p.m. on Dec. 28, the government’s free testing is being carried out in the following prefectures: Osaka, Kyoto, Okinawa, Tokyo, Fukuoka, Toyama, Shizuoka, Saitama, Kanagawa, Chiba, Gifu, Wakayama, Hiroshima and Oita.

Ishikawa and Mie prefectures are expected to start offering the free tests on Dec. 29.

Aichi Prefecture is expected to start it in the new year.

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