Denying Japanese news reports, a spokesman for the Presidential Office said yesterday that President Chen Shui-bian (
Chen Wen-tsung (
Kyodo News reported yesterday that aides to Chen have been sounding out Japanese authorities since early this month about the possibility of Chen and his wife visiting Japan this May, primarily for the Expo 2005 Aichi.
Fuji Television reported late Thursday that Taiwan's first lady Wu Shu-jen is scheduled to make a six-day trip to Japan from May 9 to May 14, mainly to visit the Aichi Expo.
Wu has reportedly expressed a desire to visit Japan, particularly during the cherry blossom season, to experience the culture and because Japan is located close to Taiwan and it would not be a difficult journey for the wheelchair-bound first lady.
Meanwhile, officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs offered no comments on the Japanese news reports, saying only that they have no idea about the first couple's plans regarding visiting Japan.
According to the Fuji Television report, Wu and her entourage will enjoy visa-free treatment as the Japanese government has decided to waive the visa requirement for Taiwanese tourists in the period between March 25 and Sept. 30 this year.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda, the government spokesman, hinted that Japan was ready to let Wu come if the visit were private in nature.
"The government has not decided its position yet, but she has visited Japan three times before for sightseeing," Hosoda told reporters.
"We will make a judgment by considering her purposes" for visiting Japan, he said.
She would technically not need a visa to visit Japan, which has temporarily waived short-term visa requirements for Taiwanese and South Koreans to encourage visits to the Aichi Expo.
Analysts saw the likely visit by Wu as a compromise by Japan to let in a representative of Taiwan without having to deal with a high-profile trip by the president.
"It is unlikely that the government of Japan would allow President Chen of Taiwan to visit Japan no matter what the occasion is," a foreign ministry official said.
"Talking about a visit by the wife of the president, it's a different story," the official said.
The visa-free policy was adopted mainly to attract more tourists from Taiwan, one of the major sources of tourists to Japan, to visit the Aichi Expo, the report said.
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