People wearing protective face masks walk on the street under a nationwide state of emergency as the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) continues in Tokyo, Japan May 10, 2020. REUTERS/Issei Kato

TOKYO: Japan plans to approve its first COVID-19 antigen testing kits on Wednesday (May 13), a health ministry official said, in a move to boost the number of diagnostic tests available to battle the pandemic.

Fujirebio, a subsidiary of Japanese diagnostics and laboratory testing service provider Miraca Holdings, last month applied for government approval for its antigen kit.