During a meeting on the afternoon of October 24 with a delegation from Japan's East Asian Friendship Association, President Ma Ying-jeou called for continued advancement of cooperation and friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
In remarks, President Ma stated that after taking office in 2008 he designated the relationship between Taiwan and Japan as a "special partnership," and in recent years the two sides have seen frequent and close interaction in the areas of economic and trade ties, culture, youth exchanges, and tourism. Progress on all of these fronts has brought bilateral relations to their best state in the past 40 years, he stated.
Commenting on economic and trade ties, the president stated that the two countries signed the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in September 2011, marking a new milestone in the relationship. He added that the Executive Yuan in the same year initiated the Taiwan-Japan Industrial Collaboration Bridging Project, which has generated further opportunities for industrial cooperation. The president remarked that Japan is Taiwan's second largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest, and bilateral trade last year exceeded US$60 billion. In addition, over the past 62 years, direct investment from Japan has come to about US$17.6 billion, making it the single largest source of foreign direct investment in Taiwan, he stated. Meanwhile, Taiwan's direct investment in Japan stands at about US$3.5 billion and this amount is increasing every year, testifying to the close economic and trade relationship between the two sides, remarked the president.
Discussing the future prospects for economic and trade ties, President Ma expressed hope that the two sides can sign an economic partnership agreement and a double taxation avoidance agreement. The president also called for Japan's continued support for Taiwan's admission to the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
Commenting on fishing disputes between Taiwan and Japan, President Ma stated that last year the two countries signed a fisheries agreement that enables fishermen from both sides to work without interference, and the number of fishing disputes in waters around the Diaoyutai Islets has declined from 17 in the year prior to the signing of the agreement to just one since then. Meanwhile, the president indicated, the volume of fish caught by Taiwanese fishermen in the area has tripled. The signing of the agreement has contributed to regional peace, the president said, adding that both the United States and Australia have applauded these developments.
Turning to the topic of tourism, President Ma commented that the signing of an open skies agreement between Taiwan and Japan has led to a considerable increase in travel between the two countries, with visits made by nationals of the two countries rising from 2.5 million from before he took office to 3.76 million last year. In addition, in the first eight months of this year the number of visits to Taiwan by Japanese nationals rose 18% from the same period a year ago to nearly 1.05 million, while the number of visits to Japan by ROC nationals has grown 27% to over two million, making Taiwan the largest source of foreign tourists for Japan. If growth continues at this pace, he added, the total number of visits this year will top four million, a clear indication of close and friendly ties.
In the area of cultural ties, President Ma noted, in late June of this year, Taiwan's National Palace Museum began an exhibition of works from its collection at the Tokyo National Museum. The exhibition was warmly received by the Japanese public, attracting over 400,000 visits, he said. Meanwhile, the president pointed out, the Tokyo National Museum and the Kyushu National Museum will hold an exhibition of treasured items from Japan at the Southern Branch of the National Palace Museum in 2016. This interaction, he remarked, is enabling the public from both nations to better understand the relics and history of the other side, which is extremely meaningful.
Commenting on interaction in the area of education, President Ma noted that the number of mutual visits by high schoolers each year exceeds 20,000 on average, with over 14,000 of those visits being made by Japanese students to Taiwan. In addition, the two sides have signed a youth working holiday agreement that has proven extremely popular among youth here, with the number of applicants exceeding the number of slots available, the president remarked. Consequently, starting on October 27 of this year, the number of slots will be increased to 5,000 from the current 2,000, which will further deepen interaction and understanding between youth of the two countries.
President Ma said that ties at both the official and private levels have been closer in the past few years than previously. He remarked he was happy to see this positive development, and expressed hope that the visitors will continue to promote bilateral cooperation and friendship.
The delegation was led by the association's chairman, Yasuhiro Oe, to the Office of the President to meet with President Ma.