Premier Chen Chien-jen on Thursday received a delegation from the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association's Taipei Office to welcome its newly arrived Chief Representative Katayama Kazuyuki. The premier said that Taiwan and Japan are actively engaging in exchanges across a wide variety of fields and are vital trade partners, with the value of trade between the two nations reaching a historic high of US$88.2 billion in 2022.
The premier emphasized that Taiwan plays a highly important role in global trade and industry supply chains. Taiwan is furthermore partnered with Japan, the U.S. and Australia under the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, working together to resolve a range of global issues, and Taiwan is actively promoting its bid to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The premier hopes Japan will continue using its influence to vigorously support and assist Taiwan's entry into the CPTPP.
In his remarks, Chief Representative Katayama said that Japan and Taiwan are vitally important partners who cherish the shared values of liberty, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. However, peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait is not simply a security matter limited to Taiwan and Japan; it has implications for the peaceful and stable development of the entire world, he said, and noted that this position was reiterated in the joint statement released after the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting held in Tokyo earlier this month.
Chief Representative Katayama stated that Japan and Taiwan have together endured numerous natural disasters as well as the COVID-19 pandemic, and each has extended the hand of support to their friend during these times of need, creating a virtuous circle. He pledged to continue promoting bilateral trade, economic, cultural and people-to-people exchanges, so that the Japan-Taiwan relationship can scale new heights.