The lower house of the Japanese parliament agreed yesterday to waive the visa requirement for Taiwanese tourists.
Japan had already suspended the visa requirement for Taiwanese tourists between March 25 and Sept. 25 to encourage them to attend the World Exposition, an international showcase of technology and innovation in Aichi Prefecture.
The House of Representatives passed the bill unanimously at a plenary session yesterday afternoon. The bill will now be referred to the upper house of the Diet for approval. If it clears the upper house, Taiwanese tourists will permanently be allowed to enter Japan without a visa.
President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) thanked Japan for planning to grant permanent visa-free treatment to Taiwanese tourists.
Praise
Chen praised the move as a step toward closer relations with Japan, which has no formal diplomatic ties with Taipei.
"If the Japanese government can realize its plan to waive visas for Taiwanese tourists on a regular basis, it would not only symbolize the good friendship between the two countries but also show [that Japan] values the 23 million Taiwanese people," Chen said while receiving Japanese lawmaker Seshiro Eto at the Presidential Office.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also welcomed the move and an official said, "We appreciate the Japanese lower house's friendly move. Hopefully, the bill can clear the upper house as soon as possible to allow for its early enactment to further boost bilateral exchanges."
The granting of permanent visa-free status for Taiwan passport holders will mark a significant breakthrough in substantive Taiwan-Japan relations, the MOFA official said.
The bill was initiated by the head of the lower house's legal affairs committee and passed with the support of the Liberal Democratic Party and its ruling coalition partner, Komeito, and the opposition Democratic Party of Japan.
Necessary
As Japan does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, the bill is necessary if Japan wants to offer a permanent visa waiver for Taiwanese citizens. Japan's existing exit and entry regulations only authorize visa waivers for citizens from countries that maintain diplomatic ties with Japan.
Taiwan has been Japan's second-largest tourist source after South Korea. Japanese parliamentarians said they hope that the permanent visa waiver will attract even more Taiwanese tourists to Japan after the Aichi World Expo and further boost bilateral cultural and commercial exchanges.
Furthermore, the Japanese government has launched a "Visit Japan" campaign aimed at drawing 10 million foreign tourists in 2010 compared with 5.73 million in 2003.
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi could be issued as early as Wednesday night, possibly followed by a land warning on Thursday night or Friday, as the storm approaches Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The typhoon is expected to have its greatest impact on Taiwan on Friday and Saturday, bringing heavy rain to central and northern Taiwan and to Yilan and Hualien counties in the east, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 2,470km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving westnorthwest at 20kph. It had maximum sustained winds of 191kph and a
The government is monitoring online rumors that a pneumonic plague outbreak has spread from Russia into China, and it might enhance quarantine measures, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During a legislative meeting, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said that rumors had circulated that the disease had spread across several Chinese provinces. He asked Cho whether the government was prepared to prevent the disease spreading to Taiwan, given the volume of traffic between the two sides, and how concerned the government was about the alleged outbreak. The Ministry of Health and Welfare had implemented border quarantine measures after briefing the Executive
EAST OF GUAM: Tropical Storm Champi is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon, but its effect on Taiwan is uncertain due to the presence of a high-pressure system Tropical Storm Champi formed yesterday and has the potential to increase in strength, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Forecasters are closely monitoring a Pacific high-pressure system that would dictate whether the storm turns north or moves toward Taiwan next week, the CWA said. The most likely scenario is that it turns northward after passing the Ryukyu Islands, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. As of 8pm yesterday, Champi was east of Guam moving west-northwest at 20kph, CWA data showed. It had maximum sustained winds near the center of 72kph and gusts of up to 101kph, the data showed. If the Pacific high-pressure system
RIGHT TO DIPLOMACY: Under the UN Charter, every state has the right to conduct foreign policy free from external pressure, Belize said in a statement Belize and Paraguay on Monday condemned Beijing sanctions over their countries’ ties with Taiwan, saying China’s actions create unnecessary tensions. Earlier on Monday, Beijing announced sanctions against Paraguayan Minister of Information and Communication Technologies Gustavo Villate and Belizean Minister of Foreign Affairs Francis Fonseca. The Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it rejected the sanctions, writing on X that they created unnecessary friction. It added that it reaffirmed its support for Taiwan and its commitment to democratic values and principles. Villate told the Spanish-language Paraguayan daily ABC Color the sanctions were “predictable” and linked them to several cooperation projects between Taiwan and Paraguay. The projects
RSS