Japan will consider raising the upper limit for the number of spectators at sports, concerts and other events to up to 20,000 from the current 5,000, as coronavirus cases have been moderating recently, a senior government official said Wednesday.

The government will weigh raising the ceiling following a request from the country's pro baseball and soccer leagues to raise the maximum attendance to 20,000 spectators or 50 percent of a venue's capacity, whichever is less. "We will take into account their request and consider it," Yasutoshi Nishimura, economic revitalization minister in charge of coronavirus response, said at a press conference, adding the new rule may be imposed in time for a four-day weekend in Japan starting Sept. 19. Under the current rule, venues for events are allowed to hold up to 50 percent of their capacity or up to a total of 5,000 people as part of measures to prevent the virus spread. The government will discuss easing the limit during a meeting with a panel of medical experts on Friday.