Japan’s new de facto ambassador to Taiwan said that one of the main objectives during his tenure would be to travel around Taiwan and better understand its diversity.
Kazuyuki Katayama, chief representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Taipei Office, made the comment during a 90-second video clip posted to the office’s Facebook page yesterday.
The office represents Tokyo’s interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties.
Photo: Screen grab from the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association’s Facebook page
During the clip, Katayama introduced himself as a 63-year-old Japanese diplomat who loves “every kind of Taiwanese food.”
He said he has visited Taiwan five times, most recently in 2006
Katayama replaced Hiroyasu Izumi, who left in early November after serving for four years in Taipei.
In a greeting message posted online by the office on Friday, Katayama said he has worked in Japan’s foreign ministry for more than 40 years, adding that his most recent post was Japanese ambassador to Peru, after earlier stints in China, the US, Belgium and Malaysia.
“I feel very fortunate and happy to have the opportunity to be able to work in Taiwan, which is one of the most pro-Japan places on Earth and has a close and deep relationship with Japan,” he said.
He also said that his master’s thesis at Harvard was a study of Taiwan’s democratization.
“Although that was more than 35 years ago, I am filled with deep emotion at finding myself assigned to work in Taiwan,” Katayama said.
He said his three main goals are “protecting the safety of Japanese residents and tourists in Taiwan, while promoting the economic activities of Japanese businesses; directly interacting with as many Taiwanese as possible and increasing ‘fans of Japan’; and learning more about the society, culture and people of Taiwan to gain a deeper and broader understanding.”
SAFETY IN REGULATION: The proposal states that Chiayi should assess whether it is viable to establish such a district and draft rules to protect clients and sex workers The Chiayi City Council passed a motion yesterday to assess the viability of establishing a regulated red-light district. The council yesterday held its last session of the year, at which its fiscal 2024 budget was approved, along with 61 other proposals. The proposal to assess the viability of establishing a red-light district was put forward by independent Chiayi City Councilor Molly Yen (顏色不分藍綠支持性專區顏色田慎節). The proposal cited 2011 amendments to the Social Order Maintenance Act (社會秩序維護法), which stipulate that city and county governments can pass autonomous regulations on the sex trade to manage the industry and guarantee industry workers’ rights. A ban on the
Measures have been taken to minimize damage from Chinese espionage, the Ministry of National Defense said on Monday, in response to an alleged plan to deliver a Chinook helicopter to the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The Chinese-language CTWANT magazine earlier in the day reported that a lieutenant colonel surnamed Hsieh (謝) was approached by Chinese officers with an offer to evacuate his family to Thailand in the event of a cross-strait conflict. In exchange, Hsieh was asked to fly a CH-47F Chinook helicopter to a Chinese aircraft carrier in the Taiwan Strait, the magazine said. Hsieh initially declined, but accepted after he was
STABILITY AND CHANGE: Flagging in recent polls, Ko this week pledged to maintain President Tsai’s foreign policy, with an emphasis on improving China relations Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) yesterday reiterated that he is “deep-green at heart” in response to accusations that he is pivoting his campaign to align closer with the ideology of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the face of flagging polls. Ko made the remark at an agricultural policy conference in Taipei, repeating his comments from an interview with CTS News a day earlier. Ko told the CTS host that he would continue to pursue President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) national defense and foreign policy in general, but with an emphasis on establishing a rapport with
CHINA illness surge: Of 88 travelers from China, Hong Kong and Macau with respiratory symptoms who were encouraged to get tested upon arrival, 70.6% had the flu Two hundred and sixty people with COVID-19 were hospitalized and 31 deaths related to the virus were reported last week — the highest numbers in four weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday, adding that cases are expected to peak next month. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said that of the 260 people hospitalized last week with moderate to severe COVID-19, 98 percent had not received the Omicron XBB.1.5-adapted COVID-19 vaccine. Among the people hospitalized this year, 78 percent were aged 65 or older, while most of the those who were hospitalized or died have or had
RSS