More Japanese prefectures were reporting zero coronavirus cases on a daily basis, and lifting the state of emergency for those regions was within sight, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said on Friday.
Nishimura, who is also in charge of the government's overall coronavirus response, added that he still wanted people to try to reduce person-to-person contact by 80%.
Japan this week extended the nationwide state of emergency to the end of May but said it would reassess the situation on May 14 and possibly lift the measures earlier for some prefectures.