The move is part of the Japanese government’s plan to relax travel restrictions for Vietnam regarding phased measures toward the resumption of cross-border travel.

With the latest announcement, Vietnamese interns, high-skilled workers, nurses and those coming to Japan for short-term commercial purposes such as signing contracts, market research, and job-related negotiations are able to apply for a new visa in late July. The Japanese Embassy has yet to reveal the exact date.

Vietnamese laborers are required to perform Covid-19 tests upon landing at Japanese airports and undergo 14-day mandatory quarantine at home.

The Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated Wednesday that Japan has held talks with Thailand and Vietnam regarding phased measures toward the resumption of cross-border travel.

Since late March, Japan invalidated all Vietnamese employees and intern visas and stopped receiving Vietnamese laborers as a preventive measure to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Vietnam also mulled the reopening of commercial flights to some Asian destinations, including Tokyo, from August.

The country sent 33,500 guest workers overseas in the first half of this year, a 40 percent year-on-year decline due to travel restrictions to contain the Covid-19 pandemic. At a government meeting last month Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc said such workers could be sent abroad if accepted.

Vietnam has to date recorded 412 cases of Covid-19, including 47 active cases and no deaths. Japan has reported over 27,000 infections and 990 deaths so far.