The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it will intervene to resolve a dispute between Japan's de facto ambassador in Taiwan and local police, which have temporarily stopped providing a sentry for the Japanese envoy's residence.
The dispute arose recently after the director of the Taipei office of the Interchange Association, Japan (IAJ), Ikeda Tadashi, early this month suddenly asked the policemen, who were originally stationed inside the representative office building, to move their station outside the building.
The IAJ's Taipei office building is located on Yangmingshan.
The building also serves as Tadashi's residence.
Originally, there was one sentry box outside the envoy's residence but after a theft in 1994, the IAJ requested that the police move it inside the residence, and add another sentry box as well.
The sudden request to move the guard outside the representative building meant that policemen were standing duty without a sentry box, in the open air amid the recent cold temperatures.
A spokesman for the police patrol squad said they had suspended their sentry service on Wednesday and have replaced it with a patrol service until a better solution is found.
The squad tried to discuss the issue with Tadashi, but the envoy insisted that the residence was the property of Japanese government and demanded that the guard station be moved outside the residence building.
In response to a complaint from the police, MOFA Spokesman Michel Lu (
Lu said MOFA respects Tadashi's decision, but added that it is also part of the ministry's duty to provide security to the foreign envoys in Taiwan.
Lu said the ministry will coordinate with the National Police Administration to solve the problem, adding that the ministry's communications with Japan remain smooth.
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