President William Lai (賴清德) and Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) yesterday welcomed Shuzo Sumi, the new chair of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA), who made his first visit to Taiwan since assuming office earlier this year.
Sumi led a JTEA delegation to separate meetings with Lai and Hsiao at the Presidential Office in Taipei.
Photo from Lai's X account
The JTEA functions as Japan's de facto embassy in Taiwan in the absence of official ties.
In his remarks, Lai congratulated Sumi on taking up the post and said Taiwan and Japan are like "family members," the Presidential Office said in a news release.
He expressed hope that Sumi's leadership, along with his decades of experience in Japan's business sector, would further boost bilateral relations, it said.
Lai also urged Japan to support Taiwan's push for an economic partnership agreement, it added.
Sumi was quoted in the release as saying that he feels honored to contribute to bilateral cooperation in various fields.
He cited an April JTEA survey showing that 76 percent of Taiwanese named Japan as their favorite country and said that the number of annual trips made from Taiwan to Japan exceeds 6 million.
He added that both sides share similar challenges, including military coercion from China, declining birthrates and natural disasters.
Sumi, who began his JTEA tenure on June 20, replaced Mitsuo Ohashi, who chaired the JTEA for the past 14 years.
The role of JTEA chair is largely ceremonial. The association is headquartered in Tokyo and has offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung.
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