Japan's Osaka and two more regions expected to request COVID-19 measures

FILE PHOTO: Senior citizens wait to receive a coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine at a large-scale coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccination centre in Osaka, western Japan May 24, 2021, in this photo distributed by Kyodo. Kyodo via REUTERS

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's western prefecture of Osaka and two neighbouring regions are expected to join in a widening declaration of COVID-19 prevention measures, Osaka's governor said on Thursday.

Japan added more than 41,000 new COVID-19 infections on Wednesday as the Omicron variant spread, a tally by national broadcaster NHK showed, breaking a record for two consecutive days.