Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato on Tuesday called for the World Health Organization to conduct a “fair, independent and comprehensive verification” of its handling of the coronavirus pandemic and the source of the virus.

In his speech at the WHO’s annual general meeting, the minister also stressed the importance of “gathering all the information and knowledge from around the world” to fight against COVID-19. For that reason, he said that “as some have already highlighted, we should look at regions like Taiwan where public health efforts have achieved some positive results.”

The Japanese government has been supportive of Taiwan participating in the meeting as an observer, but Taiwan was not invited. “No geographic gap should be created,” Kato said, emphasizing Japan’s intention to continue promoting Taiwan’s participation.

In the speech, Kato made clear that the number of new infections in Japan has been on the decline and thus the country has started easing coronavirus-related regulations. He also explained that Japan has contributed funds to the WHO and other international organizations that are working on measures to combat the virus crisis.