A Japanese Diet delegation has arrived in Taiwan with plans to pay their respects to the bronze statue of late Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the Hongmaogang Bao'an Temple in Kaohsiung and to visit former President Lee Teng-hui’s (李登輝) tomb. The Foreign Ministry expressed its sincere welcome to the group who will be staying from July 2 to 5.
Headed by Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Committee Chairman Takinami Hirofumi, the delegation includes Councillors Yoshikawa Yumi, Onoda Kimi, Nagai Manabu, Shimizu Masato, Kobayashi Kazuhiro, Kada Hiroyuki, and Kajihara Daisuke. Nicknamed the “TY Council” as it was initiated by Takinami and Yoshikawa, the group is one of the Taiwan-friendly organizations of the Japanese Senate, according to the Foreign Ministry. Takinami has expressed his enthusiasm for Taiwan-Japan parliamentary and local exchanges for many years, and has spoken uprightly for Taiwan in diplomacy.
The Foreign Ministry stated that the delegation will also visit Legislature President Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), and Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) during their stay in Taiwan. It emphasized that Taiwan and Japan are important partners who share universal values such as freedom, democracy, rule of law, and human rights, and added that the visit demonstrates Japan’s friendly support for Taiwan.