President Ma Ying-jeou met with Japan-ROC Diet Members Consultative Council Chief Secretary Takao Fujii, who is a member of the House of Representatives in Japan's parliament (Diet), and Mrs. Fujii on the morning of September 17 at the Presidential Office. In addition to extending his congratulations to Japan on winning the right to hold the 2020 Summer Olympic Games in Tokyo, the president also called for continued strengthening of cooperation in economic and trade relations, nuclear power safety, and disaster preparedness.
In remarks, the president stated that relations between Taiwan and Japan have seen progress on many fronts in the past five years. For instance, the two sides have signed a youth working holiday agreement, an open skies agreement, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, and a fisheries agreement. All of these have helped to create the best and most stable relations between the two sides since the ROC and Japan severed formal diplomatic ties in 1972, he said.
Regarding economic and trade relations, President Ma commented, Taiwan and mainland China have already signed the Cross-Straits Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement (ECFA). Taiwan has also signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement with its neighbor to the north, while most recently Taiwan and New Zealand signed the Agreement between New Zealand and the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu on Economic Cooperation (ANZTEC), said the president. These agreements are helping to create the favorable conditions for Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), he commented. In addition, the president noted, Japan has been actively negotiating to join the TPP and has a large negotiation team working on the project. Japan's efforts in this regard are worthy of emulation by Taiwan, he stated, adding that if Taiwan has the opportunity to engage in TPP negotiations, it will undoubtedly look to Japan for advice. The president then mentioned that Japan is one of the main promoters of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), and expressed hope that Japan will help Taiwan join the RCEP.
President Ma stressed that Japan is Taiwan's second largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan's fifth largest, and called on Japan to consider entering into an economic cooperation or free trade agreement with Taiwan, which he said will further strengthen bilateral economic and trade relations.
As for the issue of nuclear power security, President Ma explained that Taiwan closely monitors Japan's nuclear power policies, and noted that Japan's nuclear power plants have all been shut down for maintenance. The government here would like to better understand the impact of this move on energy supply and power prices in Japan, and also hopes to continue strengthening bilateral cooperation in the areas of nuclear power safety and disaster preparedness.
Regarding the fisheries agreement signed between the two sides, President Ma said, the accord has helped to reduce disputes and promote cooperation. In addition, he noted, the international community has praised the agreement, which provides a model for fisheries negotiations between Taiwan and the Philippines. He said that Taiwan will continue to promote its East China Sea Peace Initiative and hopes that the East China Sea will become a "sea of peace and cooperation."
As for tourism, President Ma mentioned, the number of tourist visits between Taiwan and Japan has risen from 2.5 million five years ago to 2.99 million as of last year. In the first seven months of this year, the number of tourist visits between the two sides reached 2.12 million, including 1.36 million Taiwanese tourist visits to Japan and 760,000 Japanese tourist arrivals in Taiwan. The president noted that the number of tourist visits between the two nations this year is anticipated to exceed 3 million. He also mentioned that Taiwan's National Palace Museum will hold exhibitions of objects from its collection in Tokyo and Fukuoka in June and October of next year, respectively. Meanwhile, the Tokyo National Museum in 2017 will hold an exhibition of selected treasures from the Japanese imperial court at the National Palace Museum Southern Branch (scheduled to open in 2015), he said. The president expressed confidence that this will spark a new wave of cultural interaction and elevate cultural ties to a new level.
The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office in the morning by Japan's Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Sumio Tarui to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were Secretary-General to the President Timothy Chin-Tien Yang (楊進添), Association of East Asian Relations Chairman Lee Chia-chin (李嘉進), and National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Jacob Chang (張大同).