A parliamentarian delegation from Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) will arrive in Taiwan next Monday and meet with President Tsai Ing-wen (???) and other top Taiwanese officials during a four-day visit, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Friday.
The delegation led by parliamentarian Hiroshige Seko, who currently serves as secretary-general of the LDP in the House of Councillors in the Japanese Diet, will meet with Tsai, Vice President Lai Ching-te (???), Premier Su Tseng-chang (???) and Legislative Yuan Speaker You Si-kun (???) to discuss bilateral relations between Taiwan and Japan, MOFA said in a statement.
The statement said that in addition to Seko, the delegation will consist of 11 parliamentarians who were part of the LDP faction led by Shinzo Abe, the longest-serving Japanese prime minister who was assassinated in early July while campaigning in Nara.
According to the statement, the group will also pay respects to former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui (???) at a military cemetery in New Taipei, where the late president was buried, as well as visit a memorial to Abe in Kaohsiung, before departing on Dec. 29.
Both late politicians from Taiwan and Japan, respectively, are regarded by some to have made significant contributions to promoting Taiwan-Japan relations.
The planned visit by the Japanese group, the statement said, will be a testament to the close friendship between Taiwan and Japan.
Taiwan and Japan enjoy “close economic and people-to-people ties,” the statement said, adding that the country looked forward to building further bilateral cooperation after direct interactions with the Japanese group.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel