Japan's Hiroshima prefecture said it will carry out large-scale polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to curb the spread of coronavirus, a rarity in a nation that lags far behind many other countries in the number of tests conducted.

The western Japan prefecture aims to conduct PCR tests for 800,000 people in the city of Hiroshima, which has a population of 1.2 million, Reuters reported.

The 800,000 comprises residents in the city's four wards hardest hit by the virus and workers who commute into the area. Hiroshima prefecture is not covered by the state of emergency currently in place for Tokyo and 10 other prefectures, but Hiroshima city has been struggling to contain a steep climb in cases in recent weeks.

“I believe tests of this size have rarely been seen (in Japan),” a Hiroshima prefecture official told Reuters.