President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of November 19 with a delegation led by Japan Interchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi. In addition to welcoming Chairman Ohashi to Taiwan to participate in the 39th Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Meeting, the president also called for continued strengthening of bilateral interaction and cooperation.
In remarks, President Ma stated that Chairman Ohashi is a longstanding friend to the ROC who, since assuming his post in 2011, has represented Japan in signing 13 important agreements between the two countries, including the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement and a fisheries agreement. On this trip, said the president, he will sign a number of agreements, including four memoranda of understanding on cooperation in the fields of tourism, nuclear and radiation safety regulation, exchange of information for the purposes of border control, and the deposit of microorganisms for the purposes of patent procedure. President Ma noted that just since November of last year, Taiwan and Japan have signed 10 agreements, a testament to the rapid progress in bilateral ties. He thanked Chairman Ohashi for his support in promoting bilateral relations.
President Ma remarked that not long after taking office six years ago he designated the relationship between Taiwan and Japan as a "special partnership." Although the two nations do not maintain diplomatic relations, they enjoy close interaction and cooperation in the areas of economic and trade ties, culture, and tourism, he said, and have made significant achievements in all these areas. The president added that prior to the signing of the fisheries agreement in April of last year there were frequent disputes between fishermen from Taiwan and Japan, and that these often led to confrontations between coast guard vessels from the two countries. Since the signing of the agreement, however, there has been just one dispute, versus 17 in the year prior to the signing. In addition, the two sides have set up a fisheries committee to work on related matters, he said, pointing out that rules have been set forth so fishermen from Taiwan and Okinawa can fish without restrictions in specific areas at certain times. This, the president remarked, has effectively increased catches by fishermen from both nations.
Commenting on economic and trade ties, President Ma stated that Japan is Taiwan's second largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan's fifth largest, and bilateral trade last year totaled US$62.1 billion. Furthermore, the president remarked, since the signing of the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in 2011, the number of investments in Taiwan by Japanese enterprises has risen considerably, including 1,237 over the past two years worth a total of US$820 million, which shows that the agreement clearly serves the needs of both sides. At the same time, he said, Taiwan and Japan are evaluating the possibility of entering into an economic partnership agreement and a double taxation avoidance agreement. The president expressed hope that both Taiwan and Japan can join the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership—two important Asia-Pacific regional economic alliances.
President Ma also mentioned that since the signing of an open skies agreement, civilian flights between the two countries have increased by 143% from 189 flights a week six years ago to 460. In addition, the number of cities in Japan from which non-stop service to Taiwan is available has increased from 10 to 18, an indication that tourist travel between the two countries is increasing. The president pointed out that the number of Japanese tourists to Taiwan in the first 10 months of this year has risen 17% year-on-year to 1.33 million, while the number of tourist visits by ROC nationals to Japan in the same period has risen 25% to 2.51 million. Taiwan, he remarked, has become Japan's largest source of tourists, and the total number of tourist visits between the two countries this year is poised to break through the four million mark.
As for people-to-people ties, President Ma stated, in the second year of his presidency Taiwan and Japan signed a youth working holiday agreement to allow up to 2,000 individuals each year to travel to the other nation for working holidays. The president noted that the program has been extremely well-received among youth here, with demand regularly exceeding the number of slots available, so on October 27 this year the two sides agreed to increase the annual quota to 5,000 to afford young people more opportunities to interact with people in the other country.
Turning to the topic of cultural ties, President Ma stated that Taiwan's National Palace Museum this year held the first-ever exhibition of items from its collection in Japan. The exhibition attracted over 400,000 visits in Tokyo, and has now moved to Kyushu where it continues to be extremely popular. In addition, the president said, the National Palace Museum Southern Branch is expected to open next year, and the Tokyo National Museum is planning to stage an exhibit at the new facility, displaying 160 Japanese works of art and important national cultural items. This will be the first such exhibit by Japan in Taiwan, which makes it historically significant, and points to the strength of bilateral cultural ties, he stated, expressing hope that Chairman Ohashi can come back to Taiwan to attend this important milestone in cultural ties.
Lastly, President Ma expressed confidence that this trip to Taiwan will be a fruitful one for Chairman Ohashi, and that the 39th Taiwan-Japan Economic and Trade Meeting will be a success.