On May 1, President Chen Shui-bian met with Japanese Senator Otsuji Hidehisa, Japan's former minister of health, labor and welfare, and thanked him for supporting Taiwan's bid to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA).
In the meeting, the president and his guest first exchanged opinions regarding health issues. The president especially thanked the former health minister and the Japanese government for voting in the 2004 WHA convention in favor of Taiwan's participation in the assembly as an observer. Senator Otsuji told the president that he considered the exclusion of Taiwan from the WHA "unbelievable."
The president told his guest that Taiwan-Japan relations have been closer than ever in recent years. Besides health issues, the president also thanked the Japanese government for including the Taiwan Strait into the common strategic objectives of the US-Japan Security Consultative Committee, for showing concern over China's passage of the Anti-Separation Law and over the EU's intention to lift the arms embargo against China, and for granting Taiwan's tourists to Japan permanent visa-free privileges.
Since Taiwan is the only country in the world where Japan has exported its well-known Shinkansen bullet trains, the president therefore hoped that the Japanese government would continue to assist Taiwan in launching the operation of the Taiwan High-Speed Railway by the end of this October.
Senator Otsuji Hidehisa was appointed by Prime Minster Junichiro Koizumi as the minister of health, labor and welfare in 2004. Before that, he was Japan's vice minister of financial affairs. His visit to the Office of the President was accompanied by Taiwan's Vice Foreign Minster Chang Siao-yueh.