Japan and France report cases of coronavirus variant found in UK

Six new cases emerge as Russia becomes latest country to tighten controls on travel from Britain

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Five cases of the new coronavirus variant spreading fast across the UK have been found in Japan, and one case has been confirmed in France, while Russia has become the latest country to impose stricter quarantine on travellers from Britain.

Japan has avoided the huge infection numbers seen in countries from the US to Europe, but cases are rising sharply and daily numbers passed 3,000 for the first time this month.