A parliamentary delegation from Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) is scheduled to arrive in Taiwan tomorrow and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other top officials during a four-day visit, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Friday.
The delegation, led by Japanese lawmaker Hiroshige Seko, secretary-general of the LDP in the House of Councillors in the Japanese Diet, is to meet with Tsai, Vice President William Lai (賴清德), Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) and Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫?) to discuss bilateral relations, the ministry said in a statement.
In addition to Seko, the delegation consists of 11 lawmakers who were part of the LDP faction led by former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, who was assassinated in early July while campaigning in Nara, Japan, the statement said.
The members would pay their respects to former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at a military cemetery in New Taipei City and visit a memorial to Abe in Kaohsiung before departing on Thursday next week, the ministry said.
Both of the former national leaders are regarded by some to have made significant contributions to promoting Taiwan-Japan ties.
The visit would be a testament to the close friendship between Taiwan and Japan, it said.
Taiwan and Japan enjoy “close economic and people-to- people ties,” the statement said, adding that Taipei looks forward to further bilateral cooperation that stems from the visit.
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