President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday conferred the Order of Brilliant Star on former Japanese director of the minister’s secretariat of the ministry of foreign affairs Hideo Tarumi in recognition of his contributions to Taiwan-Japan ties.
On behalf of Taiwanese, Tsai thanked Tarumi for being a long-term friend of Taiwan and an important promoter of ties between Taiwan and Japan.
Serving in the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Office in Taipei from 2001 to 2003, and 2016 to 2017, as well as in the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tarumi has always worked to bolster Taiwan-Japan cooperation, she said.
Photo: CNA
For example, he facilitated Japan’s granting of visa-free entry for Taiwanese tourists and promoted youth exchanges between Taiwan and Japan by delivering talks at Japanese schools to encourage Japanese students to come to Taiwan for educational visits, she said.
As Tarumi retired from the Japanese foreign ministry at the end of last year and has become a photographer and cross-strait relations professor at Ritsumeikan University in Japan, Tsai invited him to visit Taiwan regularly to travel, take photos and meet friends.
Tarumi said that he was greatly honored to receive the medal, adding that during his nearly four-decade career as a diplomat, he built a deep relationship with Taiwan and made many friends, including Tsai, senior advisor to the president Chiou I-jen (邱義仁) and Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮).
He has experienced firsthand the close relations between Taipei and Tokyo as he was treated with kindness while living and working in Taiwan, he said.
He would continue to cherish the bonds with Taiwan, not as a diplomat, but a photographer, Tarumi said.
Later yesterday, Tarumi met with Vice President William Lai (賴清德), who congratulated him on the decoration and thanked him for his contributions to Taiwan-Japan ties.
Tarumi helped promote cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on maritime affairs, developing Asian markets and exchanges among young researchers, Lai said.
The president-elect expressed hope of continuing to work with Tarumi and others to further bolster Taiwan-Japan ties, including people-to-people exchanges and economic and industrial cooperation.
Tarumi expressed his heartfelt congratulations to Lai for his victory in January’s presidential election, adding that having a senior politician like Lai serve as president is a very good and happy thing for Taiwanese and the region.
He hoped that Taiwan and Japan, both of which are facing a severe international environment with challenges to stability, can continue to foster exchanges and cooperation, adding that he is ready and willing to contribute to the endeavor.
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