President Ma Ying-jeou met with members of a Japanese political commentary organization at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of July 9. In addition to welcoming them on their visit to Taiwan, President Ma stressed that this year has been designated "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan." Cooperation between Taiwan and Japan has yielded results in many areas, he said, adding that he hopes to see even greater cooperation in the future to foster mutual development.
The president noted that the visitors represent the most important media sources in Japan and that Taiwan's representative in Japan Feng Chi-tai has previously met with members of the group. The president said he is confident that the guests already have a good understanding of Taiwan and that their visit will enhance the mutual bond between the two sides.
President Ma said that Taiwan and Japan completed fishing negotiations at the end of February, which will facilitate more orderly fishing in waters close to each nation. Meanwhile, a working holiday agreement between Taiwan and Japan went into effect on June 1. This will enable youth from Taiwan and Japan between the ages of 18 and 30 to go to the other nation on a working holiday arrangement for up to one year. In April, Taiwan and Japan reached an agreement under which four daily roundtrip flights will fly between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Taipei's Songshan Airport starting in October of next year. This will mark the first time since the two airports were designated as domestic airports in 1979 that they were used to serve international routes, which is highly significant, he said. The president also mentioned that Taiwan will open a representative office in Sapporo this year, bringing to six the number of representative offices that Taiwan operates in Japan. The newest office will provide services for the over 280,000 Taiwan tourists who visit Sapporo each year. Also, Taiwan is considering establishing a cultural center in Tokyo to further promote cultural interaction between Taiwan and Japan, he said.
President Ma remarked that since taking office he has worked aggressively to improve the state of cross-strait relations and reduce tension in the Taiwan Strait. These developments are also in the interests of Japan and the United States. Moreover, while Taiwan on the one hand supports the Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security between Japan and the United States, it also welcomes a continued improvement in relations between the United States and mainland China. The president especially pointed to agreements between Japan and mainland China on oil and gas exploration in the East China Sea. He said that both sides have agreed to relinquish various disputes with regards to this issue and instead reach an agreement that paves the way for peaceful exploration. This achievement is quite noteworthy, he said.
President Ma noted that many industries in Japan and Taiwan maintain long-term cooperative relationships. In the future, he said, the two countries can cooperate in jointly developing markets in mainland China, providing mutual benefits. Significant room exists for further cooperation, he said, adding that he hopes the visitors will enable their readers back in Japan to understand the situation, thereby promoting the further development of relations between the two sides.
The head of the delegation, Mr. Tadao Koike, extended his appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with the group. He also expressed his admiration and support for President Ma's actions to promote the development of relations between Taiwan and Japan and improve ties between Taiwan and mainland China. He said that in the future the members of their group will do their utmost to enable the Japanese media and public to understand the interaction between Taiwan and Japan. Meanwhile, Mr. Koike said that during this trip he visited the National Palace Museum and was deeply impressed by the amazing cultural and artistic works on display there. He said he is in favor of the National Palace Museum holding an exhibition in Japan, adding that he will help to arrange contact between the two sides after he returns to Japan and hopes that an exhibition will be realized in the future.