On the morning of April 11, President Ma Ying-jeou met with a delegation led by Japan Interchange Association (JIA) Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi. In addition to commenting on the close Taiwan-Japan friendship and the frequency of both official and people-to-people exchanges, the president also expressed hope that the Japanese authorities will enter into talks with Taiwan as soon as possible on the issue of comfort women (wartime sex slaves) during World War II.
In remarks, President Ma noted that Mr. Ohashi has visited Taiwan more times than any other JIA chairman. He has also represented the Japanese government in signing many important agreements with Taiwan, advancing bilateral relations and achieving numerous concrete successes, inspiring much gratitude and admiration.
President Ma noted that Taiwan and Japan have signed 61 agreements over the past 40-plus years, of which 28 have been signed during his presidency, including a youth working holiday agreement, a bilateral investment arrangement, and an open skies agreement. Most significant of all is a bilateral fisheries agreement that has resolved a 40-year dispute. The president also noted that the previous day, April 10, marked the three-year anniversary of the signing of the fisheries agreement, and on April 9 he made a special trip to Pengjia Islet to commemorate the signing of this historically significant agreement.
Turning to the subject of economic and trade ties, the president stated that there were 35 cases of Taiwanese foreign direct investment (FDI) in Japan last year worth a combined US$300 million, while the 471 cases of Japanese FDI in Taiwan totaled US$453 million. Japan is Taiwan's third-largest trading partner and an important source of investments and technology. Taiwan, for its part, is Japan's fourth-largest trading partner, and two-way trade last year came to US$57.9 billion. In addition, Taiwan's Hon Hai Technology Group recently signed an agreement to acquire Sharp Corporation of Japan in a deal that could well be described as a model for future such corporate cooperation between Taiwan and Japan. These facts, he said, show that bilateral ties are growing closer all the time.
President Ma also spoke about the government's determination to liberalize the economy. With this goal in mind, Taiwan signed the Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with mainland China in 2010 and the Taiwan-Japan Bilateral Investment Arrangement in 2011, as well as the ANZTEC economic cooperation agreement with New Zealand and the ASTEP economic partnership agreement with Singapore in 2013. Negotiations with the US under the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) also resumed in 2013. The president expressed hope that Taiwan can take part in second-round negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as quickly as possible so that Asia-Pacific regional economic integration can be more effective and comprehensive.
Commenting on the continued friendly state of relations between Taiwan and Japan, President Ma noted that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe had remarked during parliamentary interpellations on July 30, 2015: "Taiwan holds to the same fundamental values as Japan. It is both an important partner and a cherished friend." And after a major earthquake caused severe damage in the southern Taiwanese city of Tainan this past February 6, the Japanese government and people were quick to lend assistance. Prime Minister Abe, Minister for Foreign Affairs Fumio Kishida, Chairman Takeo Hiranuma and Chief Secretary Keiji Furuya of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, and other senior political leaders friendly to Taiwan promptly sent condolences and provided needed materials and volunteers, which he greatly appreciated.
Commenting on energy policy in Japan, the president noted that all nuclear reactors throughout the nation were shut down after the Fukushima nuclear accident in 2011, forcing huge imports of natural gas. As a result, the country's JPY6 trillion trade surplus of 2010 became a JPY2.6 trillion trade deficit in 2011, which further ballooned to JPY13 trillion in 2014, forcing Japan to resume nuclear power generation. Japan's decision to restart its nuclear reactors, he said, has had a big impact on energy policy in many countries around the world.
President Ma then stated that Taiwan's situation is similar to Japan's. The two countries are both situated in an earthquake zone and rely on imports for more than 90% of their energy needs. Both use independent power grids, and can't import electricity, he remarked, adding that we could learn from Japan's energy policy.
Regarding the issue of "comfort women" [i.e. women forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese military forces during World War II], President Ma noted that the governments of Japan and South Korea recently reached a deal to settle the issue. This was an impressive breakthrough, said the president, who expressed hope that the Japanese government can treat the victims from Taiwan in a similar manner.
Also included in the delegation were Mikio Numata and Takashi Hamada, chief representative and secretary-general, respectively, of the JIA Taipei Office.