"It is seen to be the first community spread in the country," the city's governor, Hirofumi Yoshimura, said as quoted by the Japanese news agency.

The three people who were identified to have the Omicron strain are family members with no history of overseas travel.

On December 17, the country announced that it will reduce the interval for Covid 19 booster shots for senior citizens from eight to seven months from February 2022 in a bid to slow down the spread of the Omicron strain.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said on Tuesday that the current Covid 19 related travel restrictions imposed by the government would stay active until more is known about the new coronavirus strain. As of Wednesday, the country recorded 223 new COVID cases.