A western Japan town has been flooded with complaints and threatening phone calls over its program for administering coronavirus vaccinations to young people between the ages of 12 and 15.

Amid the massive backlash against the COVID vaccination program that started the previous day, the town of Ine in Kyoto Prefecture on Monday shut down its call center for inquiries and consulted with police.

According to the town, people who called the center were critical of the vaccination plan, saying there are risks for children receiving COVID vaccinations and that young women could become infertile from the shots.

Some of the callers accused the town of "committing murder" or made death threats against staff members. The volume of protest calls overwhelmed the center's capacity, forcing the town to close it.

After the center was no longer taking calls, over 100 additional protest calls were made to the town government. All of these calls were from outside the town, suggesting the callers were not local residents.

The town also received protest messages through over 20 emails and eight faxes.

Compared with other developed countries, Japan lags behind in COVID vaccinations although the start of the Tokyo Olympics is less than two months away.