President Chen Shui-bian on the afternoon of April 25 met with Japanese Parliamentarian Hagiuda Koichi and city councilors from Tokyo and Hachioji City. President Chen offered a warm welcome to the visitors on behalf of the government and the 23 million people of Taiwan.
The president said that when he was mayor of Taipei, he had a chance to visit the Tokyo City Council. At the time, Mr. Hagiuda was a Tokyo City councilor. During the visit, Mr. Hagiuda presented to President Chen a lovely wooden box with the words Tokyo City Council inscribed on it. The president said that he still keeps this box in the Presidential Office, adding that each time he looks at the box, he recalls the warm reception provided to him by Mr. Hagiuda, who is now a parliamentarian. The president expressed his gratitude at the gracious reception he received during his visit.
In mentioning relations between the two countries, President Chen said that while Taiwan and Japan presently do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, the two have frequent interaction and exchanges, and a deep friendship exists between the two. President Chen said Parliamentarian Hagiuda is especially friendly to Taiwan. In addition to leading many delegations on visits to Taiwan, he was also instrumental in fostering a sister city alliance between Hachioji City and Kaohsiung. The president said that Mr. Hagiuda has made an enormous contribution to bolstering friendly and substantive ties between the two countries, he said.
President Chen furthermore said Japan has signed "working holiday" agreements with South Korea, Canada and Australia. Meanwhile, Taiwan has signed similar pacts with Australia and New Zealand. He said that given the level of exchanges between Taiwan and Japan in recent years, the signing of a working holiday agreement between Taiwan and Japan would certainly help to further boost cooperative and friendly relations between the two countries. President Chen pointed out that tourist visits by people from the two countries already exceeded 2.5 million last year, setting a strong foundation for such an agreement.
President Chen also thanked Parliamentarian Hagiuda and those accompanying him on this trip for their long-term support for Taiwan and for frequently speaking on behalf of Taiwan in international circles. The president expressed his hopes that the guests will continue with their efforts and help Taiwan gain entry into the World Health Organization, the United Nations and other international organizations.
The guests expressed their gratitude to President Chen for his warm reception and pledged to continue to strive to foster strong relations between the two countries. They said they will continue to advocate Taiwan's entry into international organizations and will work to open a new page in substantive and cooperative relations between Taiwan and Japan.
Parliamentarian Hagiuda and the city councilors from Tokyo and Hachioji City met with President Chen in the afternoon at the Presidential Office. Also in attendance was Secretary-General to the President Mark Chen.