Former president Lee Teng-hui (
Lee, who left office last May, has unofficially told Japanese government officials he wants to visit Japan possibly early next month, Japanese government sources said.
"Through unofficial channels, Lee has sounded out Japan about his possible visit," one government source said.
Another source said the 78-year-old former president, who is believed to have a heart problem, wanted to stop over in Tokyo for about a week for a medical examination on his way back from a possible trip to the US.
Japanese and Taiwanese media said Lee would visit his alma mater, Cornell University in New York, from April 30 and stop over in Japan for medical treatment on his way home. Lee's granddaughter is studying at Cornell.
While declining to confirm the media reports, Japanese Foreign Ministry officials said Lee has not applied for a Japanese visa.
Lee's trips to either country would certainly anger Beijing, which reviles the former president for trying to break Taiwan out of diplomatic isolation during his 12-year rule.
In February, China reacted sharply to rumors that Lee planned a trip to the US, telling Washington that any form of visit by Beijing's nemesis would gravely hurt relations.
In June 1995, Lee enraged Beijing with a trip to the US, ostensibly to visit Cornell.
Japan, keen to maintain good relations with both its giant Asian neighbor and its key ally, the US, has been caught in the middle by a bitter standoff over a midair collision last weekend between a US spy plane and a Chinese fighter jet.
The Foreign Ministry official said it was unclear whether Japan would grant Lee a visa if he applied for one.
"We will decide what to do if and when he actually applies for a visa ... We will make a case-by-case decision whether to take into account diplomatic concerns," he said.
Japan infuriated China this week when its Education Ministry approved a new history textbook for schools that critics say glosses over Tokyo's wartime aggression.
But more than anything else, revamped security ties between Tokyo and Washington have put the biggest roadblock in the way of the improvement in relations between the two Asian powers.
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