President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of September 1 at the Presidential Office with Shinji Inoue, Director of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party's Youth Division and a member of the House of Representatives, who is leading a delegation of lawmakers on a visit to Taiwan. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to the group.
The president congratulated the Liberal Democratic Party on its recent victory in elections for members of the House of Councillors, and expressed his appreciation to Parliamentarian Inoue, who is also an officer in the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council and a consultant to the East Asian Friendship Association, for his long-term efforts to promote bilateral ties between Taiwan and Japan.
President Ma said that he places great importance on Taiwan's relations with Japan, and the government specially designated last year as "The Year to Foster the Special Partnership between Taiwan and Japan." Efforts made by the two sides last year brought the signing of a youth working holiday agreement and the completion of fishing negotiations. Meanwhile, Taiwan established a representative office in Sapporo, Hokkaido, and the two countries signed an agreement that paves the way for the commencement of flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport at the end of next month. On April 30 of this year, Taiwan's Association of East Asian Relations and Japan's Interchange Association signed a memorandum of understanding on strengthening interaction between the two countries, with the document covering the areas of tourism, academics, culture, and economics & trade. President Ma stressed that Taiwan and Japan have a longstanding friendship and said he is confident that, based on the groundwork laid by both sides, even broader interaction can be achieved to foster stronger ties.
President Ma remarked that Japan is Taiwan's second largest trading partner and that Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest trading partner. Over the past two years, he said, relations between Taiwan and mainland China have improved, and the two sides on June 29 of this year signed the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA), which marks an important step in putting cross-strait trade on a systematic footing. At the same time, he said, research by a Japanese think tank revealed that Japanese firms investing in mainland China on their own achieved a 68% success rate, but Japanese companies investing in mainland China in cooperation with a Taiwan partner saw their chance of success rise to 78%. This is an extremely important statistic for Japanese firms to take into consideration, the president said, adding that Japan should take advantage of the opportunities brought about by the signing of the ECFA between Taiwan and mainland China to increase investment in Taiwan. This is sure to generate new business opportunities in East Asia for these companies, he said.
With regard to the exhibition of artwork from Taiwan's National Palace Museum in Japan, the president said that the museum here has already begun making related preparations. Japan's parliament, the Diet, he said, is presently promoting legislation to protect Taiwan's national treasures while on display in Japan, adding that he hopes that the law will be passed as soon as possible. President Ma said he also hopes that items from Japan's top museums can be exhibited in Taiwan, thereby further promoting cultural exchange between the two sides.
The president pointed out that flights are set to begin between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport on October 31. Just days later, Taiwan will host the Taipei International Flora Exposition that starts on November 6 and will run through April 25 of next year. In addition, next year will mark the centenary of the ROC, he said, with many cultural and artistic activities to be held throughout the year. President Ma said he welcomes the Japanese public to come to Taiwan over this period and enjoy the many events that will take place here.
Parliamentarian Inoue, along with House of Representatives Member Masahiko Shibayama and House of Councillors Member Yutaka Kumagai, was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Lee Chia-chin.