KMT head relays call for better ties with Japan

Wu told reporters after his meeting with Ishihara that Ma cherishes Taiwan-Japan ties and looks forward to stepping up bilateral exchanges and mutual understanding by putting aside controversial issues.

The main aim of Wu’s visit is to help the ruling KMT strengthen Taiwan-Japan ties and explain the recent state of relations with China to Japanese politicians and Taiwanese expatriates.

Wu said, however, that he stressed to Ishihara that improving the cross-Taiwan Strait relationship will also be in Japan’s interests and that Taiwan pays equal importance to its relations with Japan.

In response to Ishihara’s suggestion that Taiwan and Japan closely cooperate in combating the current financial crisis, Wu agreed that the two sides are closely linked to each other and that Taiwan maintains very special ties with Japan, as the number of two-way tourist arrivals exceeds 2.5 million visits per year, and the volume of annual bilateral trade has totaled around US$70 billion.

The KMT chairman also relayed the president’s appreciation to Ishihara for his long-term concern over Taiwan and thanked him for Japan’s support for Taiwan’s attendance at the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.

“Taiwan stands a good chance of taking part in the 2009 World Health Assembly annual conference in May,” he said.

“Taiwan needs greater international space, in particular its participation at the WHA, because it plays an indispensable role in the world’s fight against epidemics,” he asserted.

According to the KMT chief, he also expressed his support to Ishihara for Tokyo’s bid to host the 2016 Summer Olympics.

Wu was accompanied by a 14-member delegation, composed of Taiwan’s representative to Japan John C.T.Feng, former representative to Japan Hsu Shui-teh, KMT lawmakers and officials and Taipei City councilors during the 30-minute meeting.

It was Wu’s first visit to Japan in his capacity as head of Taiwan’s ruling party.

On Monday evening, the KMT chief was hosted by the Tokyo-based Interchange Association Chairman Atshshi Hatakenaka at a tea party before taking part in a dinner held by Feng in his honor in which several Japanese parliamentarians were among the guests.

Wu will proceed to Yokohama Thursday and visit the city’s mayor, Hiroshi Nakada, and meet Taiwanese community representatives there before heading for Kobe and Osaka for the same purpose.

He is slated to fly back to Taiwan Saturday.

Japan, a long-term close ally of Taiwan in the region despite the lack of formal diplomatic ties between the two countries, has been wary of the warming relations between Taiwan and China since Ma came to power in May.

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