President Ma Ying-jeou met with Yoshihide Suga, former Japanese Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications and current member of the House of Representatives, at the Presidential Office on the morning of April 30. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to Representative Suga and thanked him for visiting.
The president noted that Representative Suga is an important member of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council and a long-time supporter of friendship between the two countries. President Ma added that while Taiwan and Japan do not maintain formal diplomatic relations, the level of interaction between the two countries in the areas of trade, investment, culture, and education far exceed that between Taiwan and some of its diplomatic allies. The main reason for this is the close historical and geographic ties between Taiwan and Japan, he said.
President Ma stated that some 250 flights operate between the two countries each week. In addition, Japan is one of Taiwan's top three trading partners. At the same time, more Japanese nationals visit Taiwan than any other nationality, he said. Moreover, Taiwan is also among the top sources of tourists for Japan. Though the two nations do not have diplomatic ties, President Ma said that he regards the relationship between the two as a special partnership.
President Ma furthermore said that last year was designated "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan," and many breakthroughs were achieved. In June, for instance, the two countries signed a youth working holiday agreement, while in November Japan provided greater convenience to Taiwanese residing in Japan by allowing them to fill in "Taiwan" as their nationality on their residency documents. Two new developments took place in December, the first being the opening of a representative office in Sapporo, Hokkaido on December 1, followed by the signing on December 11 of an aviation agreement that paves the way for the commencement in October of charter flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport. President Ma also noted that Taiwan opened the Taipei Cultural Center in Tokyo in April this year, and both sides are taking steps that will enable works from Taiwan's National Palace Museum to be displayed at the facility.
Meanwhile, the Center for Modern Japan Studies has been established at National Chengchi University, which is extremely significant as the university is one of Taiwan's foremost centers for social science research, he said. The Center for Modern Japan Studies, he added, will play a very important role in boosting the understanding of issues related to Japan. President Ma stated that the year was unprecedented in the many developments that took place, and he is pleased to have witnessed it.
President Ma furthermore told Representative Suga that a memorial park to Japanese engineer Yoichi Hatta will be inaugurated on May 8 next year at the Wushantou Reservoir in Tainan. The president said that the people of southern Taiwan deeply admire Mr. Hatta and that he is confident that the opening of the park will be of enormous significance to the people of Taiwan and Japan, and especially the people of Kanazawa City in Ishikawa Prefecture, Mr. Hatta's hometown. The park is expected to further people-to-people contacts between the two countries, he said.
Representative Suga was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs David Y. L. Lin to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Lee Chia-chin.