A delegation from Japan’s House of Councillors led by lawmaker Hirofumi Takinami is to meet with President William Lai (賴清德) and Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) while visiting Taiwan from today to Wednesday, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
The delegation of five would also meet Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chairman Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全) and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), the ministry said.
The lawmakers are part of the House of Councillors’ “TY Group,” a pro-Taiwan group initiated by Takinami and former house member Yumi Yoshikawa.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Takinami, who is married to a Taiwanese woman, has often spoken up on Taiwan’s behalf.
The former state minister of agriculture, forestry and fisheries was also instrumental to a change made earlier this year to Japan’s household registration system allowing Taiwanese to list “Taiwan” as their nationality.
In a lecture yesterday organized by the Friends of Lee Teng-hui Association in Japan, Takinami said he realized the importance of the issue in 2002, when he discovered his wife’s nationality was listed as “China” when registering their marriage.
When he raised the problem with the local government, he was told it was a national-level issue.
Takinami is leader of the household registration task force at the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council.
After repeated talks with Japan’s Ministry of Justice, the team decided to incorporate the change into an already planned revision of the country’s household registration law to minimize political resistance and foreign pressure, he said.
Takinami said he first sought political support by holding private meetings with officials.
He worked “behind-the-scenes” to avoid any high-profile publicity and prevent any foreign interference before the bill was finalized, he added.
He said that people doubted the plan’s success, but based on his bureaucratic experience, once the government finalized the bill’s direction, it was unlikely to be overturned.
Takinami’s wife, Shiori Takinami, also spoke at the event, saying that it was challenging for the Liberal Democratic Party to campaign for the bill, as people questioned whether the party was overly focused on Taiwan.
However, with quiet and persistent work, understanding eventually comes, she said.
Even though she is now a Japanese citizen, she said her birthplace and hometown are in Taiwan, and vowed to continue fighting for Taiwan and Japan-Taiwan relations with her husband.
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
NUMBERS IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS