President Tsai Ing-wen (???) issued a congratulatory message on Monday to Fumio Kishida after he was officially elected as Japan’s 100th prime minister earlier in the day after winning a majority of votes in both houses of parliament.
The 64-year-old former Japanese foreign minister first won the leadership election of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) last Wednesday after two rounds of voting, which positioned him to take over the reins of the country from his predecessor Yoshihide Suga.
In a press release, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (???) said President Tsai had extended sincere congratulations on behalf of Taiwan’s government and people to Kishida, while wishing the new Japanese government under Kishida’s leadership all the best.
Taiwan and Japan are like-minded partners, as signified by the high volume of trade and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, Chang said.
They also share the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, he added.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan is Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan’s fourth-largest.
Taiwan is also Japan’s No. 3 source of foreign visitors, while Japan was Taiwan’s second-largest source of foreign visitors before the pandemic, it added.
Meanwhile, Chang said Tsai also thanked Suga for his strong support toward Taiwan during his tenure as prime minister, especially Tokyo’s five deliveries of COVID-19 vaccine donations to Taipei.
Tsai said she hopes the “circle of goodwill” between the two diplomatic partners will continue under the new Japanese government, according to Chang.
The government will continue to promote diversified cooperation with Japan and to jointly safeguard regional peace and prosperity for the benefit of both peoples, Chang added.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel