A customer of a retail store wearing a protective face mask fixes a face mask under a nationwide state of emergency as the spread of COVID-19 continues in Japan. (Photo: Reuters/Issei Kato)

TOKYO: The Japanese government will consider lifting the state of emergency on many of the 34 prefectures that are not among the hardest-hit by the coronavirus epidemic before the nationwide deadline of May 31, Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura said.