As more countries relax their mask mandates, the senior official overseeing Japan’s response to COVID-19 has suggested the government may recommend a gradual relaxation of mask wearing.

Economic Revitalization Minister Daishiro Yamagiwa, who is simultaneously leading the government’s response to the pandemic, hinted on an NHK television program on Sunday that such a gradual recommendation could eventually be considered as cases of COVID-19 would fall.

“We would like to create a situation where the number of new infections is quite low and the risk of contracting the disease during daily activities can be ignored,” Yamagiwa said. “If such conditions are created, masks will no longer be necessary.”

However, Yamagiwa said he was uncertain when such conditions might be achieved and that there were still “many steps” to go before masks would no longer be necessary in certain situations.

Unlike some Western countries — where masks have become a politically charged issue — Japan has no government-imposed rules for masks. Instead, he relied on a long tradition of mask-wearing, especially during hay fever and flu seasons.

Yamagiwa also said experts have largely agreed that masks aren’t necessary in open outdoor spaces.

“I think it’s true that when you’re out in the open you don’t need a mask,” he said.

The government currently recommends wearing a mask in schools and workplaces and other places where many people congregate, while avoiding the “three Cs” or places of close contact, enclosed spaces and places crowded.

Citing the example of outdoor environments, he said: “It is realistic to (facilitate the use of masks) gradually based on the accumulating scientific evidence and to increase the recommended scenarios in which (masks are not ) no longer needed.”

Asked on the same show how Japan should approach its mask recommendations, Shigeru Omi, Japan’s top coronavirus adviser, said that because the current environment remains extremely fluid, it’s important to think “carefully but quickly” to what to do.

However, the head of the Japanese Medical Association disagreed, urging Japan not to reevaluate its mask recommendations.

“I believe the day when people can stop wearing masks will never come to Japan as long as the country continues to see cases of coronavirus,” Toshio Nakagawa said at a press conference on Wednesday.