Former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso and his family arrived in Taiwan yesterday for a four-day private visit.
Upon his arrival at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Aso was greeted by Taiwanese Representative to Japan John Feng (馮寄台) and Japanese Representative to Taiwan Tadashi Imai.
Aso was seen chatting animatedly with Feng, but did not respond to press inquiries about his itinerary in Taiwan, nor did he make any public speeches.
He shook hands with some Japanese visitors at the airport.
Accompanied by his wife, daughter and personal aides, Aso left the airport for Taipei shortly after his arrival.
A report carried in the Japanese Sankei Shimbun yesterday said Aso was visiting Taiwan at the invitation of Taiwanese friends.
The report quoted Aso as having told the Japanese Diet that during his visit he would look at political developments in Taiwan.
This is Aso’s first trip to Taiwan since he stepped down as prime minister in September after his party lost a parliamentary election to the Democratic Party of Japan in August.
Aso, who served as Japan's prime minister from September 2008 through September last year, last visited Taiwan in April 2003, in his capacity as head of the then-ruling Liberal Democratic Party's policy coordination council.
During that visit, he attended a seminar with politicians from Taiwan's then-ruling Democratic Progressive Party.
Only two other retired Japanese prime ministers have ever visited Taiwan — the late Take Fukuda in March 1992 and Yoshiro Mori in December 2003 and again in November 2006.
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