ビジネス往来、台湾と協議へ　中韓も浮上、水際対策緩和―政府

　新型コロナウイルス感染拡大を防ぐために講じている水際対策の緩和をめぐり、政府は今月中にも、台湾とビジネス目的の往来再開に向けた協議を始める方向で調整に入った。日本と経済的なつながりの深い中韓両国も交渉相手に浮上しているが、政治的な問題や検査体制の制約を踏まえ、慎重に判断する方針だ。
　複数の政府関係者が１日、明らかにした。既に協議中のベトナム、タイ、オーストラリア、ニュージーランドに続く第２弾の位置付けとなる。（2020/07/01-18:14）

Japan is preparing to start discussions with Taiwan as early as this month to ease entry and travel restrictions for business-related visits, government sources said Wednesday.
   Japan is already in talks with Vietnam, Thailand, Australia and New Zealand on relaxing entry and travel restrictions. Taiwan is expected to be among the second group of economies for which Japan will ease border controls, aimed at curbing the COVID-19 epidemic.
   There are also proposals to enter negotiations with China and South Korea, both of which have close economic ties with Japan. But the government is taking a cautious stance due to political issues and limitations to its coronavirus testing regime.
   According to the government, 4.89 million people visited Japan from Taiwan in 2019, while 1.97 million people visited Taiwan from Japan in 2018. The two sides also exchange large amounts of trade, mainly in electronic parts.
   In Taiwan, fewer than 500 coronavirus cases have been reported so far, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.