President Ma Ying-jeou stated on the morning of September 23 during a meeting with Japan Interchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi that the Arrangement Between Association of East Asian Relations and Interchange Association for the Mutual Cooperation on the Liberalization, Promotion and Protection of Investment signed earlier in the week between the ROC and the Japan has important significance for trade and economic ties between the two countries, and marks another important step forward for Taiwan–following the signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA) last year–in its quest to participate in regional economic integration.
President Ma commented that a strong bond of friendship exists between Taiwan and Japan. Twelve years have passed since the devastating September 21, 1999 earthquake in central Taiwan. At the time, he said, Japan actively helped Taiwan in rescue and reconstruction work. In addition, two years ago when Typhoon Morakot triggered major flooding and landslides in southern and eastern Taiwan, the Japanese government and public again exhibited their generosity, which the people of Taiwan will always remember. Consequently, when the Great East Japan Earthquake struck on March 11 of this year, the people of Taiwan took it upon themselves to donate funds and material goods to people in the disaster area. The president noted that former Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, and Japan Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Tadashi Imai all publicly expressed their gratitude to Taiwan. In addition, Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) President Sadakazu Tanigaki not only sent a letter thanking Taiwan, but also dispatched LDP Executive Council Chairman Yuriko Koike to Taiwan to personally express Japan's appreciation. Also, Seishiro Eto, Vice Speaker of Japan's House of Representatives, also visited Taiwan to express his thanks on behalf of Japan's parliament.
With regard to the development of relations between Taiwan and Japan, President Ma told the visitors that after he took office he designated the relationship between the two countries a "special partnership." A number of achievements have been tallied, including the signing of a working holiday agreement between the two countries, the establishment of a Taiwan representative office in Sapporo, the commencement of direct flights between Tokyo's Haneda Airport and Taipei's Songshan Airport, and the passage by Japan's parliament of legislation preventing the impounding of artwork from other countries on display in Japan. The president also noted that Taiwan on May 8 of this year inaugurated the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park in Tainan to commemorate the contribution made by the Japanese engineer to the design and construction of hydro and irrigation infrastructure in southern Taiwan's Jianan Plain. President Ma stated that former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, House of Councillors Member Takao Fujii, and 23 other Japanese parliamentarians were on hand for the park's inauguration ceremony. In addition, as a gesture to congratulate the ROC on its centenary, Hokkaido recently presented a gift of two red-crowned cranes as a symbol of longevity. The cranes arrived in Taipei on September 14, the president stated, remarking that this demonstrates the deep bonds between the two nations.
President Ma said that the signing on Thursday of the investment guarantee agreement between the two countries is an important step forward in bilateral economic and trade ties. President Ma stressed that this agreement constitutes one of the more important investment agreements signed between the two countries since the two severed diplomatic relations in 1972. The pact covers a broad area, and will have important qualitative and quantitative effects on bilateral investment and cooperation. Furthermore, this agreement constitutes an important step in the ROC's participation in regional economic integration in the wake of the signing of the ECFA last year between Taiwan and mainland China, he said.
Vice President Vincent C. Siew, when meeting with the delegation in the afternoon, stated that Chairman Ohashi bears the important responsibility of promoting expansion of relations between Taiwan and Japan. Since assuming his post in June, Chairman Ohashi has completed an important mission by signing this investment protection agreement with the ROC. This deal, the vice president said, paves the way for the bilateral relationship to move forward. He also expressed his hope that bilateral ties will be further enhanced in the future and that cooperation and interaction will be strengthened in a wide variety of areas.
The delegation, which included Chairman Ohashi, Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Tadashi Imai, and Interchange Association Director General Keiji Kamei, was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ssu-Tsun Shen (沈斯淳) and Taiwan's Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Peng Run-tsu (彭榮次) to meet President Ma and Vice President Siew.