The Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare conducted antibody tests on about 8,000 people in Tokyo, Osaka and Miyagi prefectures.

Health minister Kato Katsunobu says the next step is to study how long those with antibodies can sustain immunity to COVID-19. He says research concerning the relationship between the antibodies to the immune defense function will also continue to go forward.

This could be promising data for the development of new treatments for the virus, which has devastated countries around the globe.