Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi

During a 30-minute phone call to Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, the Japanese official praised the COVID-19 prevention and control in Vietnam, and expressed his gratitude to the Vietnamese Government and people for their support to Japan’s fight against the pandemic.

The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in recovering their economic growth in the coming time, saying that this is also an important issue besides containing the spread of the disease.

Earlier the same day, Chief Cabinet Secretary of Japan Yoshihide Suga said the COVID-19 pandemic is still spreading worldwide, especially in developing and emerging countries, so the Japanese government still needs to maintain vigilance with the entry into the country.

However, he also underlined the importance of considering resumption of travel between people of countries.

Suga said his country would keep a close watch on the disease’s developments in the world and carefully consider the easing of entry with specific groups from each country, as well as related procedures.

Japanese media recently informed that the Japanese government is likely to include Vietnam in the list of four countries that can be relaxed the entry restriction in the first phase, together with Thailand, Australia and New Zealand.

According to Japan’s scenario, those being entrepreneurs will be given priority for entry into Japan in the first phase.

The Japanese government has planned to provide relevant specific information by the middle of June./. VNA

Japan mulls easing entry ban on four countries, including Vietnam

Japan is considering easing the entry ban on Thailand, Vietnam, Australia and New Zealand in the first relaxation of travel restrictions that were imposed due to the spread of the new coronavirus, government sources said.