The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday congratulated Japan on the completion of its general elections and expressed the hope of deepening relations with the new government and the opposition parties.
Taiwan and Japan maintain a close and friendly relationship, sharing mutual values such as freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, it said, adding that through joint efforts, these important partners have steadily deepened their value-based, economic and allied diplomacy.
Taiwan looks forward to Japan’s continued socioeconomic development following the elections and deepening their cooperation with the new government and all political parties, the ministry said.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
It also hopes to continue working with Tokyo to safeguard a free and open international order, and contribute to peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, it said.
Separately, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Kuo Kuo-wen (郭國文), speaking at a seminar, urged the government to make friends with all major Japanese political parties after the long-ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s (LDP) lost its majority in the lower house for the first time in 15 years.
The LDP and its coalition partner, Komeito, secured just 215 of the lower house’s 465 seats, short of the 233 needed to command a majority, Japanese public broadcaster NHK said.
Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba described the result as a “severe judgement” to his party amid public anger over a series of political scandals.
Japan’s political situation faces uncertainty and instability, National University of Kaohsiung political science professor Yang Chun-chih (楊鈞池) told the seminar.
“The election result is having a huge impact on Japanese politics,” Yang said.
Without a majority, the ruling coalition under Ishiba would face a difficult time in the legislature, making it harder to push through major policies.
Under Japan’s Constitution, a special session in the National Diet, Japan’s legislature, must be held within 30 days of the election to select a prime minister, but whether Ishiba would be chosen to lead again is uncertain, Yang said.
If selected, Ishiba would have to come up with new policies in the coming months to continue in the post, Yang said.
Despite the latest election setback, Kuo said he believed Ishiba would do his best to remain as prime minister given that the former defense minister only succeeded in his fifth bid to become Japan’s top leader late last month.
He also noted that veteran lawmaker Akira Amari from the LDP’s legislative caucus on semiconductors lost his re-election bid.
Amari was behind Japan’s decision to invite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電) to open a wafer fab in Kumamoto, Kuo said.
Whether Amari’s failure to be re-elected and the LDP’s overall loss would affect Japan’s ruling coalition’s policy of promoting Taiwan-Japan semiconductor cooperation remains to be seen, he added.
Kuo Yu-jen (郭育仁), deputy head of Taipei-based think tank the Institute for National Policy Research, predicted that Taiwan-Japan relations would not see a major breakthrough or improvement in the years to come given a minority government in Tokyo.
Additional reporting by Huang Chin-hsuan
STORM’S PATH: Kong-Rey could be the first typhoon to make landfall in Taiwan in November since Gilda in 1967. Taitung-Green Island ferry services have been halted Tropical Storm Kong-rey is forecast to strengthen into a typhoon early today and could make landfall in Taitung County between late Thursday and early Friday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Kong-Rey was 1,030km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), the nation’s southernmost point, and was moving west at 7kph. The tropical storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 101kph, with gusts of up to 126 kph, CWA data showed. After landing in Taitung, the eye of the storm is forecast to move into the Taiwan Strait through central Taiwan on Friday morning, the agency said. With the storm moving
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday at 5:30pm issued a sea warning for Typhoon Kong-rey as the storm drew closer to the east coast. As of 8pm yesterday, the storm was 670km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻) and traveling northwest at 12kph to 16kph. It was packing maximum sustained winds of 162kph and gusts of up to 198kph, the CWA said. A land warning might be issued this morning for the storm, which is expected to have the strongest impact on Taiwan from tonight to early Friday morning, the agency said. Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) and Green Island (綠島) canceled classes and work
‘NO POSITION ON TAIWAN’: ‘I welcome the European Parliament’s focus on this issue and this important debate,’ European Commissioner Nicolas Schmit said on Tuesday The European Parliament yesterday passed a resolution stating that UN Resolution 2758 does not have any bearing on Taiwan’s participation in the UN or other international organizations, and rejected as unacceptable any unilateral change to the “status quo” in the Taiwan Strait. The motion passed by 432 votes in favor and 60 against with 71 abstentions during a plenary vote. The resolution condemned China’s continued military provocations against Taiwan, including drills around the nation on Monday last week. “Any attempt to unilaterally change the status quo in the Taiwan Strait, particularly by means of force or coercion, will not be accepted and will
STOCKPILE: Once three new natural gas terminals are built, the nation could store up to 14 days of liquefied natural gas in the event of a blockade, an official said A Chinese blockade of Taiwan would be an act of war and have far-reaching consequences for international trade, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) said yesterday, after drills by China last week practiced such a scenario. Beijing has over the past five years staged almost daily military activities around Taiwan, including war games that have practiced blockades and attacks on ports. China’s latest war games named “Joint Sword-2024B” were carried out on Monday last week, which Beijing said included simulating blockading ports and areas, and assaulting maritime and ground targets. Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a legislative
RSS