Japan has begun allowing business travelers from a select few countries to enter, and Taiwan is on top of the next list. That was the word from Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Monday. 

Japan had closed its borders in February because of the pandemic. It first relaxed its travel restrictions in June, allowing 250 business travelers to enter from Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand each day. 

The Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun reported on Monday that aside from Taiwan, Japan is also negotiating with China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia and some 10 countries to resume business travel. These are all countries with close economic ties with Japan.

Asahi Shimbun reported that while talks began at the same time with Taiwan, China and South Korea, Taiwan was given the green light first. 

Japan is relying on more rigorous COVID-19 screening to keep the virus from spreading into the country as it opens borders, but limited tests have restricted Japan from opening its doors to more economic partners.