In a bid to speed up Japan’s slow-moving immunization program against COVID-19, the central government said Tuesday it will set up a large-scale vaccination site in Tokyo, where medically licensed Self-Defense Forces personnel are expected to administer Moderna Inc. and AstraZeneca PLC vaccines.

About 900,000 people age 65 or older residing in the capital and neighboring Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama prefectures are expected to mainly use the center, according to Kyodo News.

Given the recent spread of a new, more contagious strain of the virus in Osaka, “vaccinating as many people as possible — and doing so as soon as possible — will help ease the strain being put on the medical system,” state minister and vaccine rollout czar Taro Kono said during a news conference.