President Lai meets with former Japan PM

2024/08/23

President Lai Ching-te said Aug. 21 that Taiwan is committed to enhancing its self-defense capabilities while working with Japan to jointly safeguard regional and global peace and stability.
 
Lai made the remarks while receiving a delegation led by Japan’s former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, a current member of the House of Representatives and chief executive advisor of the Constitutional Democratic Party, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City. Arriving Aug. 20 for a three-day trip, the group includes fellow representatives Shunsuke Ito and Yoshio Tezuka, as well as Retsu Suzuki, a member of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly.
 
The president first thanked the Japanese government and friends from Japan for donations following the 7.2 magnitude earthquake that hit eastern Taiwan in April. The two countries are close partners, Lai said, adding that he looks forward to deeper cooperation in areas spanning security, disaster prevention, economy and trade.
 
According to Lai, Japan’s support of cross-strait security is deeply appreciated by the government and people. The president went on to reiterate his determination to build Taiwan into an artificial intelligence hub and to expand exchanges with Japan in AI, semiconductors and next-generation communications.
 
Lai expressed hope of signing a bilateral economic partnership agreement with Japan and urged its continued support for Taiwan’s bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
 
Following Lai’s remarks, Noda said Taiwan’s participation in the CPTPP would be welcomed by Japan. As he stated at the Ketagalan Forum earlier in the day, Noda added that Japan supports Taiwan’s observer status in the World Health Organization and its decision-making body, the World Health Assembly.
 
Noda further reaffirmed that Japan opposes the use of force to unilaterally change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and calls for the peaceful resolution of cross-strait issues.


Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)