Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文) yesterday called on Japan to introduce a “Japanese version of the [US’] Taiwan Travel Act” to facilitate mutual visits by senior officials from both countries.
Kuo, who heads the legislature’s friendship association for East Asia, made the remark at the launch ceremony of the Taiwan Japan Academy at National Chengchi University in Taipei, attended by experts and academics urging stronger Taiwan-Japan ties.
Kuo said that the nation should support Taiwan-friendly Japanese lawmakers who are pushing for a mechanism that would allow official visits.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
The friendship between Taiwan and Japan is strong, and the two peoples have come to each other’s aid in the wake of natural disasters, he said.
Former president Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) approach to the ties had led to structural changes, he said.
Kuo said he hopes that Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, which is traditionally Taiwan-friendly, would continue this path. Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and members of his Cabinet have repeatedly emphasized the importance of Taiwan’s security, which suggests a shift in Tokyo’s approach to cross-strait affairs, he said.
When then-US president Bill Clinton in 1996 asked Tokyo to revise the US-Japan Treaty of Mutual Cooperation and Security, the discourse in Tokyo revolved around “the situation in the surrounding area,” he said.
That the Suga administration bolstered its geostrategic policy shows that a different school of thought now prevails in Japan’s national security establishment, he said.
Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Representative Hiroyasu Izumi said Japan hopes that the academy would help bolster rapport and understanding between the two sides, adding that knowledge of Japan would become an asset in Taiwan.
The two countries’ relationship is based on mutual goodwill and sympathy, as demonstrated after the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami, as well as during the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The passing of an old generation of Japanese-speaking Taiwanese — such as Lee, who made great contributions to the bilateral relationship — has made the academy’s work more important than ever, he said.
Taiwan and Japan have technology advantages that could complement each other in ways that could contribute to world peace and prosperity, he added.
SEA WARNING LIKELY: The storm, named Gaemi, could become a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, with the Taipei City Government preparing for flooding A tropical depression east of the Philippines developed into a tropical storm named Gaemi at 2pm yesterday, and was moving toward eastern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Gaemi could begin to affect Taiwan proper on Tuesday, lasting until Friday, and could develop into a moderate typhoon on Wednesday or Thursday, it said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued as early as Tuesday morning, it added. Gaemi, the third tropical storm in the Pacific Ocean this typhoon season, is projected to begin moving northwest today, and be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday, the agency said. Today, there would likely
Tropical Storm Gaemi strengthened into a typhoon at 2pm yesterday, and could make landfall in Yilan County tomorrow, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The agency was scheduled to issue a sea warning at 11:30pm yesterday, and could issue a land warning later today. Gaemi was moving north-northwest at 4kph, carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of up to 118.8kph and gusts of 154.8kph. The circumference is forecast to reach eastern Taiwan tomorrow morning, with the center making landfall in Yilan County later that night before departing from the north coast, CWA weather forecaster Kuan Shin-ping (官欣平) said yesterday. Uncertainty remains and
CHIPS AND DEFENSE: Trump said the US had lost its chip business and Taipei should pay it for defense, and added that ‘we’re no different than an insurance company’ Taiwan-US relations are solid, and both sides are in agreement that peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and the Indo-Pacific region are everyone’s concern, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday following comments by former US president Donald Trump that Taiwan “should pay” for US defense. Taiwan is thankful to the US for supporting Taiwan’s bid to participate in international organizations, Cho told a news conference in Taipei. “I know the people very well, respect them greatly. They did take about 100 percent of our chip business,” Trump told Bloomberg on June 25 in an interview that was published on Tuesday. “I think
SHOW OF SUPPORT: Taiwan has been one of the largest buyers of US defense equipment, supporting American businesses and jobs, US lawmakers said Taiwan has been paying for its own defense, a US Department of State official said on Wednesday, adding that purchases of military equipment are important to the US economy and for ensuring regional security. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller was asked at a news conference about comments by former US president Donald Trump, the Republican nominee in November’s US presidential election, who said during an interview with Bloomberg Businessweek that Taiwan should pay Washington for its defense needs. “The purchases that they [Taiwan] have made not only are important, we believe, to regional security, but are important to the United States economy,”