Taipei is to keep in close contact with Tokyo on the possibility of sending representatives to the state funeral of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Secretary-General Chou Shyue-yow (周學佑) said that the governments are in close talks “in the hope of coming up with an appropriate arrangement” for Taiwan’s possible attendance of the state funeral, which is reportedly scheduled for Sept. 27.
“The ministry will release the details, if the two sides come up with a concrete plan,” Chou said.
Photo: Reuters
The Taiwan-Japan Relations Association is a semi-official agency founded by the ministry to handle Japanese affairs in the absence of formal diplomatic relations.
Abe, the longest-serving prime minister in Japan, died on July 8 at the age of 67, after he was shot twice that morning while giving a campaign speech on a street in Nara, Japan. Police arrested a 41-year-old male suspect, who had allegedly shot Abe with a homemade shotgun.
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Tuesday last week attended a private service for Abe at Zojoji Temple in Tokyo. Lai attended in a private capacity, along with foreign dignitaries, and Abe’s family members and close acquaintances.
Photo: Reuters
Media reports have said that Abe’s state funeral is to be held at Nippon Budokan, an arena where an annual memorial service for World War II casualties is usually held on Aug. 15.
An official decision on a state funeral is to be made at a Cabinet meeting in Tokyo today, Reuters reported.
Lai’s trip to Japan for the private funeral made him Taiwan’s second sitting vice president to visit that country since 1972, when Tokyo severed diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing.
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝), who died in 2020, made a one-night stopover in Tokyo on his return to Taiwan from a tour of Taipei’s Central and South American allies in March 1985, when he was vice president.
Abe was seen as a vocal supporter of Taiwan, and he helped strengthen Taiwan-Japan relations during his tenure as prime minister and after leaving public office.
On Monday last week, national flags at all government agencies and public schools in Taiwan were flown at half-mast in a show of mourning and respect for Abe.
Separately, a group of seven Japanese lawmakers are to visit Taiwan next week to hold talks with senior Taiwanese officials and academics on Taiwan-Japan security issues, MOFA said.
The delegation — led by former Japanese defense ministers Shigeru Ishiba and Yasukazu Hamada — would also include former deputy defense ministers Akihisa Nakashima and Shu Watanabe, as well as former foreign affairs minister Seiji Maehara, MOFA said.
During their four-day visit, the delegation is scheduled to meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Lai, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and other senior officials, it said.
They are also to visit the Executive Yuan, legislature, the Ministry of National Defense and local think tanks, it added.
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