Japan to declare COVID-19 curbs in 3 regions hosting U.S. bases

FILE PHOTO: People wearing protective face masks, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, walk along the Kokusai-dori in the prefectural capital Naha, on the southern island of Okinawa, Okinawa prefecture, Japan, October 25, 2021. Picture taken October 25, 2021. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan is to step up coronavirus restrictions in three regions that host U.S. military bases to stem a COVID-19 surge that some officials have said the bases have helped fuel.

The restrictions, which authorities call "priority measures", are being brought back for the first time since September, when Japan lifted emergency controls that had prevailed across the country for most of last year.