Japan has carried out a threat to publicly shame people not complying with coronavirus border control measures, releasing the names of three people who broke quarantine rules after returning from overseas.
The health ministry said the three Japanese nationals named had clearly acted to avoid contact with authorities after recently returning from abroad.
The announcement late on Monday, the first of its kind, sparked a flurry of speculation among Twitter users about the details of those identified, such as their jobs and locations.
Japan is asking all travellers from overseas, including its own citizens, to self-quarantine for two weeks, during which they are asked to use a location-tracking smartphone app and report on their health condition.
Japan last week expanded its coronavirus state of emergency to four more areas beyond Tokyo after record increases in infections while the capital hosts the Olympic Games.
The prime minister, Yoshihide Suga, declared an emergency in Saitama, Kanagawa and Chiba near Tokyo and in the western city of Osaka, effective from Monday until 31 August.
Emergency measures already in place in Tokyo and the southern island of Okinawa will also be extended until the end of August, after the Olympics and well into the Paralympics, which start on 24 August.
The surge in cases in Tokyo despite more than two weeks of emergency measures has raised doubts that the authorities can slow infections effectively.
Tokyo reported record increases in cases for three days in a row last week, including 3,865 on Thursday. The number of cases doubled since the previous week but officials said the rise was unrelated to the Olympics.
Five other areas, including Hokkaido, Kyoto, Hyogo and Fukuoka were placed under less stringent emergency restrictions.
Tokyo’s governor, Yuriko Koike, has noted that people in their 30s or younger accounted for many recent cases and urged them to “share the sense of crisis” and follow basic measures such as mask wearing and avoiding having parties.
With Associated Press