President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of January 21 with a delegation from Japan's House of Councillors. In addition to reiterating the concepts in his East China Sea Peace Initiative, the president stated that the government hopes, through negotiations and dialogue, to pursue resolutions acceptable to both sides of the Taiwan Strait regarding mainland China's announcement of an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the East China Sea, and its newly planned flight routes just west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
In remarks, President Ma mentioned that delegation leader Hirofumi Takinami, a member of the House of Councillors, has visited Taiwan on several occasions since his election in July 2013, and has a strong understanding of the state of Taiwan's political and economic development. In addition, the other members of the delegation are all members of the non-partisan Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, the most important diplomatic channel between the legislatures of the two countries, which has made many contributions in promoting bilateral relations.
President Ma remarked that upon taking office in 2008 he designated the relationship between Taiwan and Japan as a "special partnership." Though without formal diplomatic relations, the two sides maintain close interaction in economics and trade, culture, youth affairs, and tourism. While taking part in the APEC Economic Leaders' Meeting in November of last year, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held bilateral discussions with former Vice President Vincent C. Siew (蕭萬長), who was President Ma's representative. The president said he found Prime Minister Abe's positive attitude towards strengthening bilateral relations quite gratifying.
President Ma also commented that Taiwan-Japan relations have developed rapidly in recent years. ROC nationals last year made 2.97 million visits to Japan, making Taiwan Japan's largest source of tourists. Meanwhile, Japanese made over 1.63 million tourist visits to Taiwan in 2014, making them our second largest source of overseas visitors. The total number of discrete visits between the two countries last year reached 4.6 million, which easily surpassed the record of 3.76 million from the previous year. Furthermore, the number of discrete visits last year exceeded the target of four million, and did so two years ahead of schedule. The president also noted that Taiwan and Japan signed an open skies agreement four years ago, and that currently over 461 flights operate weekly between 17 airports in Taiwan and Japan, with service between second-tier cities becoming more common. Starting this year, new start-ups here including Tigerair Taiwan and V Air plan to open or increase their routes to Japan, so we can expect to see even more activity in the skies between the two nations.
As for youth interaction, President Ma told the visitors that Taiwan and Japan signed a youth working holiday agreement in 2009 under which 18 to 30 year olds from each country can apply to visit the other on working holidays. As the number of applicants has exceeded the number of slots available, both countries in October of last year agreed to increase the number of spaces annually to 5,000 from 2,000.
The president also addressed economic and trade relations. Japan, he said, is Taiwan's third largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest. Bilateral trade in the first 11 months of last year hit US$56.6 billion, and the signing of the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in 2011 has effectively promoted economic and trade cooperation. Taiwan in 2013 signed the ANZTEC and ASTEP economic trade agreements with New Zealand and Singapore, respectively, and is actively pursuing membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), hoping to become more deeply involved in regional economic integration. Japanese Foreign Minister Press Secretary Kuni Sato in June of last year indicated that the Japanese government welcomed Taiwan's willingness to participate in the TPP, and President Ma said that this statement was very encouraging for Taiwan. He also expressed hope that Taiwan and Japan will strengthen cooperation in the future, making a contribution to stability and prosperity in the Asia-Pacific region.
In discussing the state of affairs in East Asia, President Ma remarked that Taiwan and Japan in April 2013 signed a fisheries agreement, marking a major advance between the two countries following his announcement of the East China Sea Peace Initiative. The agreement was meaningful from both economic and strategic standpoints, as it not only addressed the distribution of resources, but also peacefully resolved a 40-year fishing dispute. This move, which enhanced regional peace, was applauded by the defense and foreign ministries of the United States and Australia. The president emphasized that the East China Sea Peace Initiative urges all parties to reduce tensions, strengthen dialogue, and resolve disputes in a peaceful manner. The government also hopes that Taiwan and mainland China will employ negotiation and dialogue to address the mainland's demarcation of an ADIZ in the East China Sea and its planned opening of flight routes just west of the median line of the Taiwan Strait, and Taiwan hopes to achieve a solution acceptable to both sides.
Lastly, President Ma expressed hope that the visitors will gain further insight into Taiwan during their stay here, helping to further promote bilateral interaction and cooperation.
The delegation included House of Councillors members Tsuneo Kitamura, Iwao Horii, Yasutada Ohno, and Yasuyuki Sakai.