President Tsai Ing-wen received a delegation comprising members of Japan’s House of Representatives at the Presidential Office May 5 in Taipei City, when she pledged to continue working with the country’s like-minded partners to promote peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific.
Arriving May 3, the 11-member delegation was led by Masanobu Ogura, director of the Liberal Democratic Party’s Youth Division. It included fellow lawmakers Norikazu Suzuki, Hayato Suzuki, Susumu Yamaguchi and Daisuke Nishino.
According to the president, exchanges between Taiwan and Japan have grown closer across a broad range of fields. This is especially true of fighting the COVID-19 pandemic, as Japan donated over 4.2 million vaccine doses to Taiwan and the government reciprocated with much-needed disease prevention supplies, she said.
The president took the opportunity to thank the government, National Diet and Japan’s political heavyweights for publicly backing global participation for Taiwan and advocating for cross-strait peace and stability.
Tsai said the government will progress in bringing Taiwan’s legal framework and related policies in line with global standards to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
It is hoped that visiting lawmakers will maintain support for Taiwan’s participation in global organizations such as the International Civil Aviation Organization, International Criminal Police Organization, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and World Health Assembly, she added.
In response, Norikazu Suzuki said the pandemic has further strengthened exchanges and friendship between the two sides. The visit by the delegation is particularly significant amidst the Russia-Ukraine war and a very tense international landscape, he added. As Taiwan is a regional neighbor of Japan, cross-strait peace and stability is of great importance to his country, Suzuki added.
The Japanese lawmaker said the Youth Division has been a long-term supporter of Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP. It is hoped that Taiwan will fast-track required legal and regulatory amendments for its accession to the trade agreement, he added. (SFC-E)
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