President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of October 4 bestowed the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on former Chairman of the Japan Interchange Association Reijiro Hattori in recognition of his outstanding contributions in promoting substantive friendly relations between Taiwan and Japan.
The ceremony was held at 11 a.m. at the Presidential Office. On hand to witness the event were National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), ROC Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Peng Run-tsu (彭榮次), and Japan Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Tadashi Imai .
Delivering remarks to express his gratitude, former Chairman Reijiro stated that he had served in his position as the head of the Japan Interchange Association for 18 years and that it was his deep honor to be able to promote the expansion of friendship between the two sides during his tenure. He said that it is an unprecedented honor for him to receive this honor from President Ma on the eve of the ROC's Double Tenth National Day.
President Ma lauded former Chairman Reijiro for sparing no effort in enhancing friendship between the two countries. Many accomplishments were seen during his tenure, including Japan's move to provide visa-free courtesies to Taiwanese tourists, mutual recognition of drivers' licenses, the signing of a working holiday agreement between the two countries, Taiwan's establishment of an office in Sapporo, the commencement of direct flights between Taipei's Songshan Airport and Tokyo's Haneda Airport, the signing of 15 memoranda on cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, and the Japanese Diet's recent passage of legislation preventing the impounding of works of art on display from other countries. The president said that this list of achievements is quite impressive.
The president remarked that shortly after taking office in May 2008 he designated the relationship between Taiwan and Japan as a "special partnership" and promoted comprehensive interaction between the two countries. The efforts of the two nations have made the relationship between Taiwan and Japan more than a typical friendship, he said. After the Great East Japan Earthquake struck the northeast portion of Honshu in March of this year, the ROC government immediately announced that it would donate NT$100 million to the rescue and relief effort, and would also begin a campaign for the donation of goods. He said that he and his wife personally took part in answering telephones in a telethon to raise funds for the relief effort. He also encouraged the people of Taiwan to donate generously. Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) personally visited Japan to express his condolences. Meanwhile, people in Taiwan gave generously, with total cash donations amounting to NT$6.6 billion and donations of goods coming to over 500 tonnes. All of this is a concrete expression of Taiwan's determination to come to the aid of its friends when they are in need, he said.
President Ma stated that people in Japan were deeply moved by Taiwan's generosity, including Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, former Prime Minister Naoto Kan, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano, Foreign Minister Takeaki Matsumoto, and Japan Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Tadashi Imai. All of these individuals publicly expressed their gratitude to Taiwan, he said. In addition, Liberal Democratic Party General Council Chairperson Yuriko Koike and Vice-Speaker of Japan's House of Representatives Seishiro Eto personally visited Taiwan to express their thanks.
The president also mentioned that the two sides recently also signed an investment protection agreement, which he said will aid in protecting and promoting cross-border investments, and in fostering trade liberalization. This is an important milestone between the two countries since the two severed diplomatic relations in 1972, he said. President Ma stated this alliance is not only beneficial to both countries, but also offers the two countries opportunities to further develop markets in mainland China in the wake of the signing of the cross-strait Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement between Taiwan and mainland China. The president cited the example of a Japanese digital content company cooperating with a Taiwanese counterpart. Counterfeit versions of the Japanese firm's products have been taken off the shelves in mainland China thanks to the signing of a cross-strait intellectual property rights agreement that has extended protections to products jointly produced by Taiwan and Japan. The agreement ha obliged mainland authorities to take action against the counterfeit products, thereby resolving the problems faced by the Japanese firm, he explained. This shows that there are many areas in which room exists for cooperation between Taiwan and Japan, said the president, who called for increased cooperation in the future to further cement economic and trade relations between the two sides.