President Ma Ying-jeou met with Mr. Katsumasa Suzuki, a member of Japan's House of Representatives and the Democratic Party of Japan, at the Presidential Office on the afternoon of January 12. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome to Mr. Suzuki on his visit to Taiwan.
President Ma noted that Mr. Suzuki is an officer in the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council. In addition, he is the head of the Democratic Party's Japan-Taiwan Economic Security Research Council and has long made concerted efforts to promote Taiwan-Japan relations. Furthermore, this visit is extremely meaningful as he is leading a delegation to Taiwan after the Democratic Party became the ruling party again. The president commented that Japan's government and public provided 250 million yen worth of goods and donations after southern Taiwan was ravaged by flooding and landslides in early August last year due to Typhoon Morakot. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama also specially sent a letter conveying his sympathies. President Ma expressed his deepest gratitude on behalf of the government and people for these gestures.
The president said that the ROC designated last year as the "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan." Many concrete results and breakthroughs were seen throughout the year as a result of the efforts made. On December 1, the ROC (Taiwan) opened a new representative office in Sapporo, which became Taiwan's sixth such office in Japan. Less than two weeks later on December 11, an agreement was signed that paves the way for four daily charter flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport to begin in October of this year. In June, the two nations signed a working holiday agreement. Under this arrangement, Japan is opening its doors to young people from Taiwan between the ages of 18 and 30 to travel there for working holidays for up to one year. Up to 2,000 people can participate each year in the program, which will significantly boost interaction between youth of the two countries, the president said. Also during the year, the Japanese government amended regulations to allow the nationality of Taiwan compatriots residing in Japan to be indicated as "Taiwan" on their residence cards. Taiwan compatriots in Japan had sought the change for over a decade, he said.
President Ma also commented that Taiwan has already opened a cultural center in Tokyo and it hopes that the Japanese parliament in the future will amend laws to enable artworks from Taiwan's National Palace Museum to be displayed in Japan. The president said he hopes Mr. Suzuki will provide assistance and support on this matter, helping to further promote cultural interaction between the two countries. President Ma noted that this is the second delegation from Japan he has met this year and is the 54th delegation from Japan he has met in the nearly 20 months since he took office, an indication of the high degree of importance that Taiwan places on relations with Japan. He also said he hopes that relations between the two countries will develop still further in the future.
Parliamentarian Suzuki expressed appreciation to President Ma for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet with him, adding that he has been fortunate to contribute to the achievements realized over the past year. He also noted the emphasis that President Ma has placed on relations between Taiwan and Japan since taking office. Mr. Suzuki said that after he returns to Japan he will make every effort to promote the exhibition of artworks from the National Palace Museum so that more Japanese are able to appreciate these treasures. Parliamentarian Suzuki stressed that there is no reason to doubt the longstanding friendly relations between the two countries. He added that bilateral security cooperation plays an important role in regional peace and stability. In the future, he said, he will encourage even more parliamentarians from the Democratic Party to visit Taiwan to enhance interaction and strengthen cooperation between the two countries.