President Tsai Ing-wen received a delegation from the Youth Division of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party at the Presidential Office April 30 in Taipei City, expressing hopes to continue expanding the partnership to promote peace and prosperity in a free and open Indo-Pacific.
According to the PO, the group was led by Takako Suzuki, director of the division and member of the House of Representatives, and comprises Kazuhiro Fujii and Rio Tomonoh, members of the House of Councillors; Sakon Yamamoto and Shumpei Kaneko of the House of Representatives; and Masahiro Aso, head of the Taiwan-Japan friendship group of Tokyo-based Junior Chamber International Japan.
Tsai said Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida offered words of encouragement to Taiwan immediately after the 7.2-magnitude earthquake struck the eastern county of Hualien in early April. Taiwan visitors to Japan have also reported seeing donation boxes for disaster relief during their trips. On behalf of the government and people, the president expressed sincere gratitude to Japan's public and private sectors, including the division, for such heart-warming concern for Taiwan.
Officials from Japan and other partner countries have also reiterated the importance of cross-strait peace to the global community at international venues such as the U.S.-Japan Summit Meeting and G7 Foreign Ministers’ Meeting held earlier in the month, Tsai said. She hopes to see more cooperation between the division and local private sector organizations to deepen Taiwan-Japan relations.
In response, Suzuki praised Tsai for her exceptional leadership and promotion of bilateral ties over the past eight years. The disaster relief from Taiwan following the 7.6-magnitude earthquake in Japan’s Ishikawa prefecture earlier this year underscores the deep bond between the two sides, she said, adding that the division will continue working to bring relations to the next level. (SFC-E)
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