President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of March 21 with former Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs and current member of the House of Representatives Koichiro Gemba. In addition to extending a cordial welcome to Representative Gemba on his visit to Taiwan, the president also called for continued expansion of ties and cooperation between the two sides.
In remarks, the president noted that Representative Gemba previously served as Minister of State for National Policy and Minister of Foreign Affairs. President Ma said that Representative Gemba has been invited many times to receptions hosted by the ROC's representative office in Tokyo to mark the ROC's national day, and during his tenure as Minister of Foreign Affairs promoted the resumption of fishing negotiations between Taiwan and Japan. This paved the way for the eventual signing of a fisheries agreement between the two countries in April of last year, he said, adding that this marked a new milestone in Taiwan-Japan relations.
As for relations between the two nations, the president stated, six years ago after he took office he immediately sought to strengthen relations with Japan, and his administration designated Taiwan's relationship with Japan as a special partnership. In recent years, he said, Taiwan and Japan have signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement and an open skies agreement, the latter of which has led the way to a greater number of direct flights between cities in Japan and Taiwan. Meanwhile, Taiwan has established a representative office in Sapporo, and the two sides have implemented a working holiday agreement. This cooperation and interaction has brought the relationship between the two sides to its best point in the past 40 years, the president commented.
President Ma also mentioned that following the inking of the fisheries agreement between the two countries on April 10 of last year, the two nations in November of the same year signed six agreements, including the Taiwan-Japan Arrangement for Mutual Cooperation on Electronic Commerce, the Agreement on Search and Rescue Operations Involving Aviation Accidents at Sea, and the Memorandum of Understanding for the Mutual Co-operation in the Field of Financial Supervision. These have helped to move substantive bilateral relations forward, he said.
President Ma stated that in the wake of the signing of the open skies agreement, the number of weekly flights between the two countries has increased to nearly 420, serving 19 major airports in cities throughout Japan. In addition, the president pointed out, the convenient aviation network has paved the way to increased tourism, with the number of Taiwanese visiting Japan last year rising 50% from the previous year to 2.34 million, while the number of Japanese traveling in the opposite direction came to 1.42 million. This brought the total number of visits by the peoples of the two countries to over 3.7 million in 2013, marking historical highs in absolute numbers and growth percentages, he stated.
As for cultural ties, the president mentioned, in April of last year Japan's Takarazuka Revue held their first public performance in Taiwan. Meanwhile, in June through November of this year, objects from the collection of Taiwan's National Palace Museum will be displayed in Tokyo and Fukuoka, respectively. This, he commented, will mark the first time that objects from the museum have been put on display in another Asian country, and Japan was picked as the first stop. President Ma said this attests to the friendly relationship between Taiwan and Japan, and turns a new page in cultural ties between the two countries.
Turning to the topic of recent instability in the East China Sea, President Ma stated that countries bordering the area are facing a number of challenges. With this in mind, he stated, two years ago he introduced his East China Sea Peace Initiative to seek a reduction in tensions and the resolution of disputes via peaceful means. The president said that Representative Gemba, who was Minister of Foreign Affairs at the time, responded favorably to the initiative, which he was particularly pleased to see.
President Ma stressed that enterprises in Taiwan and Japan have consistently maintained strong industrial cooperation, and two-way investment between the two sides has gradually grown since the signing of the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in 2011. He said that bilateral trade last year exceeded US$60 billion, which indicates the vibrancy of bilateral economic and trade ties. On the topic of regional economic integration, President Ma noted that Japan has already joined the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and is presently involved in negotiations to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership. He expressed hope that in the future Japan can support Taiwan's entry into the two trade blocs, and that Japan will share its experience with Taiwan.
Accompanying Representative Gemba was Japan's Interchange Association Taipei Office Chief Representative Sumio Tarui.