President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of March 26 with a delegation of Japanese scholars, led by Professor Shunji Hiraiwa, who are here to participate in a Taiwan-Japan young scholars international forum. The president extended a cordial welcome to the scholars on their visit to Taiwan and expressed his hopes for even stronger academic interaction between Taiwan and Japan in the future.
President Ma commented that this year has been designated as "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan," and that this visit to Taiwan by the academics is extremely significant. All of the eight Japanese scholars here to attend the conference are 45 years old or younger, and some of them are making their first visit to Taiwan. This is in distinct contrast to a number of Japanese parliamentarians who frequently make visits here. The president said he hopes that an even greater number of young Japanese scholars will be invited to visit here in the future, thereby strengthening academic interaction between the two countries.
The president said that the visiting scholars come from Tokyo, Keio, Hiroshima and Kobe Universities, and they are involved in research topics such as US-Japan relations, as well as issues related to East Asia, North Korea and mainland China. The quality of the in-depth research is outstanding, the president said, which has helped these scholars make a name for themselves in the Japanese academic community. For instance, Professor Tomoki Kamo is already regarded as the successor to Professor Tomoyuki Kojima, one of Japan's foremost experts on China. Meanwhile, Professor Hiraiwa is a renowned scholar who focuses on North Korea.
President Ma said while the bilateral relationship between Taiwan and Japan is already quite close, there are still imbalances in some areas of the relationship. As a result, measures need to be adopted to enable the relationship to be more even and normal, thereby meeting the needs of both sides. This is a key conceptual basis of efforts to promote a special partnership between Taiwan and Japan, he said.
The president said Taiwan over the past year has adopted new policies in terms of diplomacy and with regards to mainland China. The changes will impact both Taiwan and Taiwan-Japan relations, and will also have an effect on the region as a whole. President Ma said he expects this conference will offer an opportunity for scholars between the two countries to share their opinions on this topic.
Professor Hiraiwa expressed his appreciation on behalf of the group to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with them. He said the conference, which will get underway on March 27, will feature a group of Japanese scholars who specialize in Taiwan, mainland China and North Korea. These scholars will engage in discussion with their Taiwan counterparts on economic and security topics, offering a good opportunity for the academics to share their views with each other. He also stressed that the development of relations between Taiwan and Japan can be looked at from different angles and from a higher perspective, with discussions being more from the standpoint of East Asia in general. Professor Hiraiwa expressed his hopes that the conference will mark a good beginning to promoting greater interaction among young scholars between the two countries, and could even mark a major step forward in setting the foundation for interaction among teachers at the elementary school, high school and university level.