Taiwanese citizens who have previously used the working holiday visa program to Japan will be able to reapply beginning this April according to a Nikkei report published this Tuesday.

According to regulations, the working holiday visa is mainly applicable to people aged 18 to 30, allowing holders to stay in Japan for up to one year for work. Japan currently promotes this system with 31 countries and regions. Previously, applicants from most countries were limited to once per lifetime, but the maximum has been increased to two for those from countries with frequent interactions with Japan.

Taiwan is the fourth and most recent to benefit from the policy change. The Nikkei report points out that South Korea, Canada, and Slovakia have also agreed to the arrangement. Approximately 3,000 Taiwanese citizens do a working holiday program in Japan each year.

Despite severing diplomatic ties with Taiwan in 1972 and establishing diplomatic relations with China, Japan has continued to maintain close ties with Taiwan through economic cooperation, trade, and people-to-people exchanges. Last year a record 6.7 million Taiwanese tourists visited Japan, outnumbered only by South Korean and Chinese tourists.