Former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso visited former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) grave at a military cemetery in New Taipei City yesterday afternoon, shortly after arriving in Taiwan.
Aso was accompanied by members of his delegation, including Japanese lawmakers Keisuke Suzuki and Kenji Nakanishi, and Lee Teng-hui Foundation chairwoman Annie Lee (李安妮), Lee Teng-hui’s daughter.
Annie Lee thanked Aso for attending a public memorial for Lee Teng-hui at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan in August 2020 when he was Japanese deputy prime minister.
Photo: Chen Yu-fu, Taipei Times
Aso said Lee Teng-hui greatly influenced Taiwan-Japan relations.
It is hoped that bilateral ties can be deepened in every aspect, he said.
As part of Aso’s three-day visit, he is to give the keynote address at the Ketagalan Forum security conference today.
He is also to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and other senior Taiwanese officials, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The 82-year-old served as Japan’s prime minister from 2008 to 2009, and deputy prime minister from 2012 to 2021. He has also led the country’s foreign and finance ministries.
Aso has served as deputy head of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) since 2021, and he is the first active LDP deputy to visit Taiwan since diplomatic relations between Taipei and Tokyo were severed in 1972.
The previous LDP vice president to visit Taiwan was Etsusaburo Shiina in 1972, when he came to inform then-president Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) of Japan’s plan to switch diplomatic recognition to Beijing.
The last time Aso visited Taiwan was in 2011, when he led a delegation to attend the 100th Double Ten National Day celebrations in Taipei.
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