Large numbers of people on Saturday flooded transport hubs in major population centers across Japan despite the government designating Tokyo, Kyoto and Okinawa prefectures as requiring more stringent coronavirus countermeasures just a day earlier.

The government response puzzled some travelers while others questioned the need for authorities to ask people to refrain from traveling across prefectural borders.

The government took action as Osaka and the wider Kansai area in the west have experienced a surge in numbers of people infected with COVID-19 variants.