About 50 Japanese expatriates and family members were repatriated Wednesday from Indonesia on a chartered plane following a surge of infections with the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus in the country.
The All Nippon Airways aircraft, chartered by major general contractor Shimizu Corp., departed Jakarta's international airport in the morning and arrived at Narita Airport later in the day.
According to the Japanese Embassy in Jakarta, at least 330 Japanese nationals in Indonesia had contracted the virus as of Wednesday, of which 14 had died.
Indonesia reported its highest daily number of new coronavirus infections Wednesday, with the total reaching 54,517, as the highly contagious delta variant sweeps across the sprawling archipelago.
Shimizu decided to bring back its Japanese employees and their family members as Indonesia is experiencing a shortage of hospital beds and medical-use oxygen amid the surge.
The company plans to provide a COVID-19 vaccine to those willing recipients once they are back in Japan. Its remaining personnel are also due to return to the country.