Taiwan’s cross-party legislative delegation led by Vice President Dr. Johnny C. Chiang of the Legislative Yuan attended the Asian-Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union (APPU) meetings. During the four-day trip from March 11 to 14, the delegation met with multiple leaders of the Japan Parliament and members from the both Houses of Councilors and Representatives, who all expressed their warm welcome. These courtesy calls included visits to Representative Yuichiro Tamaki, leader of the Democratic Party for the People (DPFP) and Vice President Taro Aso of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), followed by visits to Representative Nobuyuki Baba, leader of the Japan Restoration Party, Chairperson Keiji Furuya of Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, and members of the Constitutional Democratic Party (CDP), Japan’s largest opposing party today.
Representative Nobuyuki Baba, leader of the Japan Restoration Party, expressed that Taiwan and Japan have been partners with close exchanges. During his visit to Taiwan in 2023, he was warmly received by representatives from all walks of life and was deeply impressed. Representative Baba also congratulated many of the newly elected legislators from our delegation for joining Taiwan’s new Legislature. When Japan experienced the strong earthquake in 2011 and the one at Noto Peninsula on New Year’s Day this year, Taiwan provided assistance in various ways; for the relief at Noto Peninsula, a donation of over 2.5 billion Japanese Yen was sent from Taiwan’s private sector, for which Representative Baba expressed deep gratitude. He added that the idea of “Business of Taiwan is a business of Japan” has been deeply rooted in the hearts of Japanese people. It is hoped that there could be an increase of exchanges on peace and security at higher level dialogues between the two nations, so that there can be comprehensive countermeasures for any possible scenarios. Representative Baba also expressed his hope that the interactions between Taiwan-Japan Parliament, local councils, and even between people could reach higher levels in the future. The Japan Restoration Party will also play its part in encouraging Japanese people to visit Taiwan to deepen our friendship and collaboration, creating prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific region together.
In his remark, Vice President Chiang stated that the Japan Restoration Party donated 10 million Japanese Yen to assist in post-disaster reconstruction during the Hualien earthquake in Taiwan. Vice President Chiang also expressed his sincere gratitude for the Party’s all-time backing of Taiwan in the Japan’s Parliament; for instance, the unanimous pass of support for Taiwan’s participation in World Health Assembly (WHA) in 2021. Chiang added that as Taiwan’s delegation attended the APPU meetings in Tokyo, we appreciated Representative Jimusho Wada from the Japan Restoration Party for speaking up to support the agreement drafts proposed by Taiwan. Vice President Chiang also invited members of the Party to visit Taiwan, which will be hosting the APPU General Assembly 2025. The visit continued in warmth and joy with exchanges of views on policies toward China, regional security, and Taiwan’s pursuit of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Our delegation also paid a visit to the cross-party Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council to meet with Chairperson Keiji Furuya, who just visited Taiwan not long ago, as well as multiple Council leaders; also in attendance were former President Akiko Santo of the House of Councilors and the former Minister Koichi Hagiuda of Economy, Trade, and Industry, now serving as the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. Their presence showed the great importance that the Council attaches to our delegation. Chairperson Furuya pointed out that Taiwan is a nation with mature democracy. A new president was elected on January 13 and a new Legislature formed on February 1 this year. He just visited Taiwan two days before to meet with President Daniel K.Y. Han of the Legislative Yuan and exchanged thoughts on the composition of the Taiwan Legislature today, where the members of opposing parties account for most seats, while the number of the ruling party members are the minority. He stated that Japan also experienced similar situations where the ruling party had different numbers of seats in the House of Representatives and the Councilors, accounting for less than half of the total seats. That being the case, given the changing economy today, the Japanese Parliament has been working on measures to address such situations. Chairperson Furuya expressed hope that after Taiwan’s new administration starts running in May, both the ruling and opposition parties could pool their wisdom to make decisions for the better good of the people. He continued to share that he once attended the APPU meetings after being elected as a member of the House of Representatives. As collaborations between nations have become more frequent today, he looks forward to more ties between the Taiwan and Japan Parliament in the future.
In response, Vice President Chiang first expressed gratitude to Chairperson Furuya for personally receiving our delegation right after returning to Japan. When Chairperson Furuya was meeting with President Han in Taiwan two days before, Taiwan’s legislative delegation was also exchanging ideas with members of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party Youth Division. This showed that the ties between Taiwan and Japan have been growing closer regardless of time and space. Vice President Chiang continued by showing on his phone a picture of a calligraphy work by a master; on the piece of word was an inscription- “A Journey Stretching into a Thousand Miles.” As a token of appreciation from President Han to Chairperson Furuya, the art piece symbolizes the everlasting journey ahead that Taiwan and Japan embark on side by side. Chiang also stressed that although Taiwan’s new Legislature comprises three parties, with none of which accounting for over half of the Parliament seats, the friendship between Taiwan and Japan is a shared vision across the political spectrum. The new legislative delegation making its first overseas visit to Japan is a guarantee of the importance placed by both the ruling and opposing parties to relations between the two nations. Vice President Chiang also mentioned that during the APPU event, the Japanese parliamentarian delegation showed full support of Taiwan’s agreement draft for joining the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). For that, Vice President Chiang once again expressed his gratitude, and he wholeheartedly invited Chairperson Furuya and all members of the Japanese Parliament to visit Taiwan in 2025 for the 53rd APPU General Assembly, which could surely add to the partnerships between Taiwan and Japan.
On the last day of the trip, our delegation still made the most of the morning to visit Representative Kenta Izumi, the leader of Japan’s main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party, along with 7 members of the House of Representatives. Representative Izumi started by warmly welcoming our delegation and congratulating the legislators present for their successful election in January this year. He shared that on January 13, he was watching the broadcast of Taiwan’s election through Japanese media, and he could not emphasize enough his joy for Democratic Progressive Party’s victory in the presidential election and the Kuomintang securing the majority of seats in the Parliament; Representative Izumi also would like to convey his admiration for the efforts that Taiwan People’s Party put in the election, and most importantly, the critical democratic literacy that can be seen in Taiwanese people. Representative Izumi also congratulated Taiwan on obtaining the right to host the APPU event next year, and he wished the coming general assembly a great success. He also expressed hope that his Constitutional Democratic Party could secure more seats in the National Diet in the future election, so that he could be traveling to Taiwan with the party leaders for the APPU event. As the main opposition party in Japan, it is their hope to continue to grow and maintain close ties with the Legislative Yuan of the Republic of China to advance Taiwan-Japan relations.
Echoing what Representative Izumi said, Vice President Chiang expressed that he felt from the bottom of his heart that the Constitutional Democratic Party is filled with momentum under the leadership of Representative Izumi. He also wished all the members present to be re-elected with high votes in the next Diet election, and he will be glad to receive them in Taiwan next year for the APPU General Assembly. Vice President Chiang added that Taiwan’s legislators across parties unanimously support the continued deepening of the Taiwan-Japan relations. In addition, an array of surveys in the two nations show that people of both sides have a good impression of each other as high as 70%. This is the main reason that Taiwan’s new Legislature chose Japan for its first overseas visit to boost legislative diplomacy. It is believed that exchanges between Taiwan and Japan will enhance mutual understanding and strengthen our ties. The visit continued in a joyful vibe with engaged exchanges of views on the two nations’ domestic politics, social issues, energy policy, Taiwan’s policy toward China, and high-tech industry developments.
During their visit to Japan, Vice President Chiang and the delegation also arranged tea gatherings with Taiwan’s press and media teams based in Japan. Meeting with the Central News Agency, Liberty Times, Global News, and other local news media , our delegation shared the fruitful results from participating in the APPU General Assembly and the in-depth exchanges from the face-to-face meetings with parliamentarians from Japan and other attending nations.
The legislative delegation led by Vice President Chiang returned to Taiwan by flight on the afternoon of March 14. Before boarding, they thanked Taiwan's representative to Japan Frank Hsieh and the teams from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for their perfect arrangement in advance to receive the delegation. In addition to the comprehensive logistic support, the members at the Representative Office also assisted our delegation to achieve the goals set for attending the 52nd APPU General Assembly. With these efforts, the delegation composed of cross-party legislators of the new Legislature returned with remarkable outcomes by pulling off legislative diplomacy and enhancing Taiwan’s international visibility.
