A Japanese parliamentary delegation led by former Japanese minister of defense Shigeru Ishiba arrived in Taiwan yesterday.
Speaking to reporters upon arrival at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), Ishiba said that the delegation would hold talks with Taiwanese officials on regional security issues.
The visit is to last until Saturday. Three Japanese lawmakers who had been part of the delegation had to drop out after testing positive for COVID-19.
Photo: CNA
The four-person delegation would meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President William Lai (賴清德), Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other senior government officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
They would also visit the Executive Yuan, the Legislative Yuan, the Ministry of National Defense and local think tanks to exchange views with officials and academics on Taiwan-Japan security issues, it said.
Delegation members would also visit Wuzhi Mountain Military Cemetery in New Taipei City to pay their respects to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝). Lee, Taiwan’s first popularly elected president who passed away in 2020 at the age of 97, spoke fluent Japanese and was known for his pro-Japan views.
The delegation also includes former Japanese minister of defense Yasukazu Hamada, former Japanese deputy minister of defense Akihisa Nakashima and Takayuki Shimizu.
Ishiba, Hamada and Nakashima are members of the lower House of Representatives, while Shimizu is a member of the upper House of Councilors.
They are members of a Japanese parliamentarian association on security issues established by Ishiba and Hamada in November 2019, the foreign ministry said.
Ishiba, 65, of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, ran for party chair in 2012, but lost to former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe.
Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), executive director of the Institute for National Policy Research and an expert on Japanese affairs, told the Central News Agency (CNA) that this is the highest-level Japanese delegation to visit Taiwan since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1972.
The visit comes as the Japanese government prepares to publish three defense papers by the end of this year, Kuo said, adding that the trip is likely meant for the lawmakers to evaluate the situation in Taiwan.
Another Japan expert, Wang Tsun-yen (王尊彥) of the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, told the CNA that Japan referred to Taiwan as an “extremely important partner” in its annual defense white paper published last week, which has a significantly wider coverage of the Taiwan issue than last year’s paper.
This shows that Tokyo has recognized Taipei’s strategic position in relation to Japan and is putting more emphasis on Taiwan’s security, Wang said.
TRAFFIC SAFETY RULES: A positive result in a drug test would result in a two-year license suspension for the driver and vehicle, and a fine of up to NT$180,000 The Ministry of Transportation and Communications is to authorize police to conduct roadside saliva tests by the end of the year to deter people from driving while under the influence of narcotics, it said yesterday. The ministry last month unveiled a draft of amended regulations governing traffic safety rules and penalties, which included provisions empowering police to conduct mandatory saliva tests on drivers. While currently rules authorize police to use oral fluid testing kits for signs of drug use, they do not establish penalties for noncompliance or operating procedures for officers to follow, the ministry said. The proposed changes to the regulations require
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
RSS