Japan’s new ambassador to China has vowed to improve relations with China, but that will not affect Taiwan’s relations with Japan. That’s according to Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Secretary-General Fan Chen-kuo (范振國) speaking on Thursday.
Fan’s comments come as the new Japanese Ambassador to China Kenji Kanasugi has pledged to improve relations with China. Kanasugi says he especially wants to resolve the issue over Japan’s release of radioactive water from the Fukushima Nuclear Plant into the ocean last August. The move has been highly controversial in China, which subsequently instituted a blanket import ban on Japanese seafood products.
Fan says that Kanasugi has a deep understanding of both sides of the Taiwan Strait and that such comments do not represent any change in Japan’s position on Taiwan. He says that Japan has always hoped to adopt a cooperative rather than confrontational approach to China, and that their main goal is to mitigate risk. He says the comments from the Japanese ambassador are not surprising, and that Japan continues to support Taiwan’s bid to join the regional trade deal known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Fan says that the recent fundraising scandal that has embroiled Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and his cabinet will also not affect Japan-Taiwan relations. He says that Taiwan maintains good ties with both the ruling and opposition parties in Japan, and that friendly bilateral relations will continue into the future.