Primary Taiwanese news agency Central News Agency (CNA) recently reported that 35 cross-party members of the Japanese-Taiwanese Parliamentarian Symposium will visit Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony for Taiwanese President-elect Lai Ching-te on May 20th. This will be the largest Japanese delegation in history.
Japanese Representative Kishi Nobu Chiyo, the nephew of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, will be among the visiting Japanese delegates. Akie Abe, the widow of Shinzo Abe, will also make a special trip to Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony.
CNA reported that president-elect Lai Ching-te has a profound friendship with the Abe family. Immediately after Shinzo Abe’s assassination, then Vice President Lai Ching-te went to Japan to express his condolences to Abe’s family members and friends. At the time, Lai Ching-te was at the highest-level Taiwanese government official to visit Japan since 1972.
When China banned imports of Taiwanese pineapples, Shinzo Abe made a video of himself eating pineapples, calling on the Japanese people to purchase more of the fruit from Taiwan. The fact Japan is now sending its largest delegation in history to attend the Taiwanese inauguration symbolizes the continued warming of Taiwan-Japan relations. After Lai Ching-te takes office, he is expected to continue supporting Taiwan-Japan friendship, with the hope that the two countries can work together to maintain peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.
Source: CNA, May 14, 2024
https://www.cna.com.tw/news/aipl/202405140249.aspx