Tokyo’s first drive-through coronavirus test centre was launched this week, as Japan ramps up efforts to prevent its medical system crumbling under the growing weight of new infections.

The city Yokosuka, south of the capital, is starting walk-through testing on Friday — the first of its kind in Japan — in which samples will be taken by a medical worker stationed in a phone booth-like protective box.

The launch of the time-efficient tests, which have already been put in place in countries such as neighbouring South Korea, follow criticism from medical experts over the limited access in Japan to PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab tests.

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