President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of July 18 with a delegation from Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Youth Division. In addition to calling for continued strengthening of interaction among young politicians from the two sides to jointly forge a future of peace and prosperity, the president reiterated that the ROC’s attitude toward history will be to "face facts, show human empathy, and approach the past—good and bad—with clarity” in promoting the development of bilateral ROC-Japan relations.
In remarks, the president stated that Japanese from all walks of life expressed their condolences following the powder explosion that occurred at the Formosa Fun Coast waterpark on June 27. The Japanese Red Cross Society provided medical resources and support, while the Japanese branch of the Association of Medical Doctors of Asia and the Japan Medical Association also jointly recommended six professors and physicians specializing in critical care and burn treatment to visit Taiwan to provide intensive care and advice to local hospitals involved in the treatment of the victims. Meanwhile, Typhoon Soudelor recently hit Taiwan, after which Japan sent rescue teams to provide assistance. President Ma expressed his deepest gratitude to Japan for its concern for the injured, and the damage caused by that natural disaster. He also hopes that the two sides in the future will continue to strengthen their interaction in the field of medical treatment and disaster prevention.
The president noted that since he took office in 2008 he has designated the relationship between Taiwan and Japan as a “special partnership.” The government has spared no effort in promoting economic, trade, culture, and tourism cooperation, as well as in encouraging interaction among young people. Japan, the president stated, is Taiwan's third largest trading partner and major source of foreign investment and technology, while Taiwan is Japan's fourth largest. Bilateral trade last year hit US$61.6 billion.
President Ma further pointed out that Taiwan and Japan have signed 58 agreements over the past 60 years, with 25 of those agreements, or 43%, signed during his presidency, including an open skies agreement, a youth working holiday agreement, the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement, and a fisheries agreement. These very gratifying advances, the president said, were impossible under previous administrations, but have been achieved due to the concerted efforts of the ROC and Japanese governments over the past seven years.
Commenting on participating in regional economic integration, President Ma told the visitors that the ROC hopes to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), as the proposed aggregate membership of those two regional integration organizations absorb over 70% of Taiwan's exports. Former Japanese Foreign Minister Press Secretary Kuni Sato last year indicated that the Japanese government welcomed Taiwan's willingness to participate in the TPP, said the president. He then expressed hope that the visitors will continue to help Taiwan join the TPP and the RCEP, thereby promoting economic and trade relations between Taiwan and Japan.
The president mentioned that the Youth Division of the Liberal Democratic Party is an important conduit for interaction between the party and Taiwan. President Ma pointed out that Shinjiro Koizumi, the former director of the party's Youth Division , led a delegation to Taiwan in 2013, while the present delegation, led by Hideki Makihara, is here to promote interaction between political parties and young politicians from the two countries. This visit will certainly be beneficial in promoting mutual understanding between officials from the two countries at the highest levels.
President Ma stated that on August 14, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe delivered a statement to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War II. Countries throughout the world closely followed the remarks by the prime minister, who used words and phrases including "colonial rule," "deep reflection," "remorse," "aggression," and "heartfelt apologies." While Prime Minister Abe twice mentioned the harm to the reputation and dignity of many females during the war, what many found regrettable was that he did not issue a specific, clear apology with respect to comfort women, the president said. The ROC government, he added, believes Japan is willing to reflect on and examine its past actions. However, “as a friend, the ROC hopes that the Japanese government will do more and do better to address this issue,” President Ma remarked.
The president also mentioned that the United Nations Commission on Human Rights in 1996 issued a special report that designated comfort women as "military sexual slaves ." In addition, the legislative bodies of 30 nations, including the European Union, passed resolutions supporting the request by comfort women for an apology from the Japanese government, which demonstrates that the international consensus had already been reached on the issue, he said.
The president said that Japan left considerable infrastructure here from the period when Taiwan was under Japanese colonial rule. He stated that “the ROC cannot deny this, and has never forgotten it.” For instance, Japanese hydraulic engineer Yoichi Hatta was instrumental in the design and construction of the Jianan irrigation waterways and the Wushantou Reservoir in southern Taiwan, and the people of Taiwan will never forget his contributions. The president remarked that after he took office he issued a directive to build the Yoichi Hatta Memorial Park , and the park was opened in 2011 on the 69th anniversary of Mr. Hatta's death. At that time, 23 Japanese parliamentarians came to Taiwan to take part in the unveiling ceremony. In fact, the construction of the Wushantou Reservoir has enabled unirrigated land of the Jianan Plain to become fertile farmland, the president said, adding that although most of the rice grown in Taiwan during the colonial era was transported to Japan, the output of this land has benefited generations of Taiwanese since Taiwan's retrocession in 1945.