President Ma Ying-jeou met with former Mayor of Yokohama City Hiroshi Nakada and a delegation of legislators in the House of Representatives belonging to the Democratic Party of Japan on the morning of December 14 at the Presidential Office. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), expressed a cordial welcome and appreciation to the visitors for making a special trip to Taiwan.
The president commented that former Mayor Nakada is one of Taiwan's best friends, having spared no effort in promoting relations between Japan and Taiwan during his tenure in the House of Representatives and as mayor. President Ma noted that the two countries have signed an agreement that paves the way for charter flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Taipei's Songshan Airport. This arrangement, which will commence in October of next year, is in part a result of former Mayor Nakada's suggestion to start direct flights between Tokyo and Seoul using Haneda. Next year's flights between Taipei and Tokyo will not only reduce ground transportation time between city centers and airports, which is welcomed by businessmen, but will also help to pave the way for closer ties between Taiwan and Japan, the president said.
President Ma said that in the one year and seven months since he took office, relations between Taiwan and Japan have been closer and friendlier than in the past. The president remarked that Taiwan faced heavy damage from the flooding and landslides caused by Typhoon Morakot in early August. The government and people of Japan provided 250 million yen and an array of goods to aid in the disaster rescue and relief effort. The government and people of the ROC (Taiwan) will always remember this gesture, he said. President Ma also said that 10 days prior to the signing of the aviation accord for charter flights between Taipei and Tokyo, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office formally opened a new branch in Sapporo to serve the 280,000 Taiwan tourists that visit Hokkaido each year. It is Taiwan's sixth in Japan, and the first in northern Japan. The opening of this new office is highly symbolic of the efforts to promote bilateral relations, he said. The president also noted that a youth working holiday agreement between the countries went into effect in June, which will enhance mutual understanding between 18 and 30 year olds from each nation.
President Ma stated that Japan's government has adopted a variety of new postures since the Democratic Party assumed power. The president said he hopes even more parliamentarians will become involved in secondary groups in the Diet that promote Taiwan-Japan relations. This would help strengthen contacts and enable ties between the two nations to move further ahead, he said.
Former Mayor Nakada expressed his condolences for the heavy loss of life caused by the August flooding and also thanked President Ma for his concern about his resignation as mayor. He said he is willing to encourage parliamentary members of the Democratic Party to join the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council and the Japan-Taiwan Economic Security Research Council, thereby further boosting the strategic partnership between the two countries and solidifying the network of friendship between the two.