Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga asked U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc. on Saturday to provide additional supplies of COVID-19 vaccine to Japan, Japanese officials said.

Suga made the request during telephone talks with Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla on the last day of his three-day visit to Washington for a White House meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.

Bourla was quoted by the officials as saying Pfizer would like to promote consultations about the request swiftly and coordinate closely with the Japanese government.

The talks came as Japan trails far behind Britain, the United States and elsewhere in providing vaccinations to people.

Japan relies solely on imported coronavirus vaccines, and Pfizer's vaccine is the only one the country has approved so far.