President Tsai awards medal to ex-Japan national security chief

Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) Former Japanese national security chief Shigeru Kitamura was awarded a presidential medal by President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Tuesday for his contributions to the promotion of relations between the two countries, the Presidential Office said in a press release later the same day.

Tsai conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Kitamura, who served as secretary-general of the Japanese National Security Secretariat (NSS) from September 2019 to July 2021, during a ceremony at the Presidential Office in Taipei, the release said.

The release cited Tsai as thanking Kitamura for "long spar[ing] no effort to help enhance Taiwan-Japan relations" and applauded the retired Japanese official's "deep and abiding friendship with Taiwan."

According to Tsai, Kitamura was responsible for Japan's national security affairs under the government of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and "a key advocate" for amending the country's National Security Strategy in his capacity as NSS chief.

She was likely referring to the revisions made to Japan's national security strategy in late 2022, which underscored peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as "an indispensable element for the security and prosperity of the international community."

The strategy described Taiwan as "an extremely important partner" for Japan and took note of China's intensified "military activities in the sea and airspace surrounding Taiwan."

Tsai said she looked forward to seeing "even more fruitful bilateral cooperation" between Taiwan and Japan in the future, adding that both sides could work together to contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

In his remarks, Kitamura, who was accompanied by his family, recounted his past efforts in promoting relations between Taipei and Tokyo, including building up communications with Taiwan on issues related to Japanese diplomacy and security, and taking part in the bilateral dialogue on fisheries.

Kitamura, who served as Japan's top intelligence officer for nearly eight years before being tapped as NSS chief, reportedly opened his own consultancy, Kitamura Economic Security, after retirement in 2021.

In recent times, Taiwan and Japan have both faced security challenges, he said, noting that they should collaborate in the areas of diplomacy, defense, intelligence, the economy and technology to "enhance our abilities to deter external threats," without specifying the source of those threats.