The Japan-based OKS Corp is planning to construct a village with 560 houses in Taiwan to attract Japanese retirees for long-term stays, an official with the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Liu Hsin-cheng (劉馨正), deputy director of the ministry's joint service center in southern Taiwan, made the remarks after OKS chairman Yuichi Okoshi met with Kaohsiung County Magistrate Yang Chiu-hsing (楊秋興) to exchange views on the project.
Okoshi has been conducting a fact-finding tour of Hualien County, Taitung County and Pingtung County with a view to finding a suitable site for the construction project, Liu said.
There are currently 5-6 million retirees in Japan, with each of them receiving an average monthly retirement pension of more than ?300,000 (US$2,400), Liu said, adding that the Japanese government had been encouraging retirees to conduct long-stay visits abroad.
During the meeting, Yang asked Okoshi to consider constructing the planned village for long-stay Japanese retirees in the townships of Meinung (美濃) or Shanling (杉林), citing fresh air, clean water, well-educated citizens and excellent infrastructure in the two locations.
Okoshi said that Taiwanese friendliness and the nation's policy of granting 180-day visitor visas for Japanese citizens aged over 55 make Taiwan an ideal tourist location for Japanese seniors.
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