《TAIPEI TIMES》Japan delegation visit for National Day ceremony

Staff writer, with CNA and Bloomberg

A delegation led by Japanese lawmaker Akiko Santo has arrived in Taipei to attend the official Double Ten National Day ceremony today, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

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The five-member delegation would participate in the ceremony outside the Presidential Office Building to mark the National Day of the Republic of China （ROC）, the ministry said in a statement.

They are also scheduled to meet with President William Lai （賴清德） and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang （江啟臣） before wrapping up their brief visit today, the ministry said.

In addition to Santo, who was the president of the Japanese House of Councilors from 2019 to 2022, the delegation also includes House of Councilors members Junzo Yamamoto, Hirofumi Takinami, Masamune Wada and Mizuho Umemura, it said.

They are also members of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, a cross-party group in the Japanese Diet dedicated to promoting ties between Taipei and Tokyo, it said.

Last week, Japanese Representative Furuya Keiji, head of the cross-party group, said that the delegation would not include House of Representatives members as the lower chamber was dissolved yesterday ahead of snap elections set for Oct. 27.

The elections were called by Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, who assumed the office on Tuesday last week after he was elected leader of the Liberal Democratic Party （LDP） on Sept. 27.

He replaced former Japanese prime minister Fumio Kishida, who did not run for re-election after a series of scandals that tainted his administration.

Keiji, who has served as a representative since 1990, said that while the size of the delegation would be smaller than in previous years, the delegates were all strong advocates for more exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.

Separately, former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso described Taiwan as an important “country” for Japan at an event in Tokyo on Monday, Kyodo News reported on Tuesday.

The remark by Aso, an adviser to Ishiba, might draw a rebuke from China.

Ishiba visited Taiwan in August, where he expressed solidarity with the nation and met Lai. He has also called for the establishment of an “Asian NATO” to better deter China.

While Aso has a track record of verbal gaffes, he has repeatedly challenged diplomatic convention over Taiwan. Last year, he said a show of strength was needed to maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait, prompting China to warn that he had “severely interfered in China’s internal affairs.”

During a visit to Taiwan in 2021, Aso said Japan and the US would have to defend Taiwan together in the event of a major problem. Beijing called his comments “extremely wrong and dangerous.”

Aso’s influence in the LDP has waned since Ishiba took office.

Japan has strong trade and cultural ties with Taiwan, but like the US and many other countries, it usually avoids clarity on Taiwanese sovereignty, a stance aimed at avoiding angering China.

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES