President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation of Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) parliamentarians at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of October 8. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed a warm welcome and appreciation to House of Representatives Member Hirosato Nakatsugawa and his colleagues.
The president remarked that Mr. Nakatsugawa is a senior Japanese parliamentarian and is extremely friendly to Taiwan. President Ma noted that last year Parliamentarian Nakatsugawa attended his inauguration. The president added that the DPJ recently became the ruling party in Japan, marking a new era in Japanese politics.
President Ma stated that the Japanese government provided a donation of 110 million yen, as well as various goods, after southern Taiwan was ravaged by flooding and landslides in early August. Combined with donations from the private sector, Japan donated a total of 250 million yen worth of financial and material assistance. Japan also dispatched a health and disease prevention team to the disaster areas to provide assistance. President Ma expressed his deepest gratitude for these gestures.
The president also said that in light of historical and geographical factors, he places the utmost emphasis on political and economic development between Taiwan and Japan. This year, he said, the ROC government is aggressively promoting the special partnership between Taiwan and Japan, thereby working to strengthen bilateral interaction and cooperation. This initiative has yielded many important results, such as the completion of the 16th round of fishing negotiations early this year, the inking of a working holiday visa system in June of this year, and negotiations that have paved the way for the commencement of four round-trip flights daily between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport once a new runway is completed at the Japanese airport in October of next year. President Ma also mentioned that Taiwan will establish a new representative office in Sapporo, as well as set up a cultural center in Tokyo. Meanwhile, Japan has begun allowing Taiwan citizens in Japan to use "Taiwan" as their nationality on their residence cards. President Ma said Taiwan hopes the Japanese parliament will legislate various protections so that articles from the National Palace Museum here can be safely exhibited in Japan.
Parliamentarian Nakatsugawa said that this marks his first visit to Taiwan since the DPJ scored a landslide victory that enabled it to become the ruling party. He said that he and his colleagues are delighted to have this opportunity to visit. He also remarked that even though Taiwan and Japan do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, broad interaction among parliamentarians is helping to foster cooperation between the two sides. Mr. Nakatsugawa indicated he will continue to work to promote friendly relations between Taiwan and Japan.