Outgoing Japanese Representative to Taiwan Sumio Tarui on Tuesday night said that he cherishes the relationship he developed with the nation over his two-plus years in Taipei, expressing hopes that bilateral ties will continue to grow.
Tarui, who has been posted in Taiwan since April 2012, said he will continue to work to “make Japan remain a good friend of Taiwan” based on the countries’ strong ties in culture, trade and other areas.
Speaking at a farewell reception in Taipei, Tarui recalled his impression of Taiwan shortly after he took up the post as the head of the Taipei Office of Japan’s Interchange Association, which represents Japan’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of diplomatic ties.
Back then, he was moved by the gesture of a schoolboy, who yielded his seat to the representative on the Taipei MRT. Tarui said that giving up a seat to one’s elders has become a rare practice in Tokyo.
Even today, he has not forgotten the warmth he felt then, he said. It is experiences like that which make him feel “fortunate” working in Taiwan, he added.
Tarui also took the opportunity to express gratitude once again for the post-disaster assistance Taiwan offered following Japan’s disastrous earthquake in March 2011.
He said he was touched by Taiwan’s generous donations and support in the wake of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and ensuing tsunami in Japan’s Tohoku region.
“I will always have warm feelings for Taiwan,” he told the hundreds of attendees at the event, including several Taiwanese government officials and foreign officials based in Taiwan.
After stepping down, he will continue to serve the Interchange Association as a consultant, he said, vowing that he would continue to make efforts to advance bilateral ties.
Taiwan Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Shih (石定) then led guests in a toast to Tarui, who he lauded for promoting ties with Taiwan.
Over the past two years, Taiwan and Japan have signed agreements in investment, e-commerce, banking supervision, aviation and fisheries, among others, to the benefit of the people of both countries, Shih said.
The two countries have advanced ties in cultural exchanges, he added, citing the example of an unprecedented exhibition of imperial Chinese treasures from Taiwan’s National Palace Museum that drew many visitors to the Tokyo National Museum — 150,000 as of Monday.
Shih also expressed hope Tarui would continue to help promote ties between Taiwan and Japan.
Mikio Numata will succeed Tarui as Japan’s representative to Taiwan.
The Interchange Association said Numata is set to arrive in Taiwan late this month. Tarui will depart later this week.
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
Quarantine awareness posters at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport have gone viral for their use of wordplay. Issued by the airport branch of the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency, the posters feature sniffer dogs making a range of facial expressions, paired with advisory messages built around homophones. “We update the messages for holidays and campaign needs, periodically refreshing materials to attract people’s attention,” quarantine officials said. “The aim is to use the dogs’ appeal to draw focus to quarantine regulations.” A Japanese traveler visiting Taiwan has posted a photo on X of a poster showing a quarantine dog with a
RSS