President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 8 with Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council Chief Secretary Takao Fujii, who is also a member of the House of Councillors. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC, extended a cordial welcome to Chairman Fujii on his visit to Taiwan to participate in a ceremony to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the passing of Japanese engineer Yoichi Hatta, who designed and oversaw the construction of an irrigation system in southern Taiwan.
The president remarked that relations between Taiwan and Japan are extremely close, and the two share a longstanding historical bond. Even though each side has different perspectives on this history, both recognize the enormous contributions made by Yoichi Hatta to Taiwan, which is why the president began working immediately after he took office years ago to promote establishment of the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park. The park was intended to be a place that would forever highlight the contributions made to Taiwan by Mr. Hatta.
President Ma mentioned that last year the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park was formally inaugurated. At the time, former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori and Chief Secretary Fujii led a group of 24 members of the Japanese Diet to Taiwan to take part in the inauguration ceremonies. The president said that many here were encouraged by the strong Japanese response, which highlighted the role of the park as a symbol of the friendship between the two nations. President Ma expressed his regret that he would be unable to personally attend memorial ceremonies later in the day for Mr. Hatta, but added that he had specially asked Vice President Vincent C. Siew to attend on his behalf.
The president stated that on March 12, the Taipei Office of the Japan Interchange Association held a reception to commemorate the anniversary of Japan's March 11, 2011 earthquake and tsunami, and to remember the victims of the disaster and thank Taiwan for the assistance it has provided. President Ma noted that he participated in the event and paid his respects, and at the same time announced that Taiwan had decided to immediately lift its travel alert for Fukushima Prefecture, except for the areas within a 30-kilometer radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. This move was aimed at aiding in the development of Japan's tourism industry, he said. Meanwhile, Taiwan's Representative to Japan Feng Chi-tai (馮寄台) was recently invited to an Imperial Garden Party at Japan's Akasaka Imperial Gardens, which was the first time an official from the ROC had been invited to the event since formal diplomatic ties between the two countries were severed. During the event, the Emperor of Japan expressed Japan's gratitude to Taiwan for the assistance it provided after the earthquake, and Representative Feng reiterated Taiwan's willingness to continue to cooperate with Japan on this front.
President Ma stated that much progress has been seen in relations between Taiwan and Japan over the past year. For instance, he said that Japan's parliament has passed the Law Concerning Promotion of Exhibitions of Art Objects from Overseas, which prevents the impounding of artwork from other nations that is on display in Japan. In addition, the two sides have signed the Taiwan-Japan Friendship Initiative, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, and an aviation agreement. Also, amendments have been made to the aviation agreement between the two countries, whereby Japan has for the first time adopted an open skies policy toward Taiwan. In addition to flights to Tokyo's two airports, second-tier cities have now been opened to flights from Taiwan, with restrictions lifted entirely on the number of flights and type of planes that can service the routes. President Ma also expressed his hope that in the future Taiwan and Japan will explore the possibility of signing a free trade agreement in order to further bolster trade and economic ties between the two countries. He furthermore noted that the Japanese government has also decided to participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and that Taiwan also has a deep desire to take part in this initiative, explaining that Taiwan will work to create the conditions needed to join the TPP within the next 10 years.
President Ma praised the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council for the important role it has played in promoting relations between the two countries. He also expressed his hopes that the Japanese parliamentarians will continue to provide assistance to Taiwan's new representative to Japan, Ssu-Tsun Shen (沈斯淳), who is presently vice minister of foreign affairs. Meanwhile, Liao Liou-yi (廖了以), who presently is serving as chairman of the Association of East Asian Relations (AEAR), previously served as minister of the interior, secretary-general to the president, and secretary-general of the ruling Kuomintang. He also has close ties to Japan and is familiar with Japanese affairs. The president expressed his confidence that the work carried out by Chairman Liao and Representative Shen will help to create new horizons in the Taiwan-Japan relationship.
Chairman Fujii was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Japan Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Sumio Tarui to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were AEAR Chairman Liao, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen, and National Security Council Advisor Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進).