Japanese senators visit Taiwan for National Day ceremony

Taipei, Oct. 9 (CNA) A delegation led by Japanese Senator Akiko Santo has arrived in Taiwan to attend the official National Day ceremony on Thursday, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

In a statement issued Wednesday, MOFA said the five-member delegation will take part in the ceremony outside the Presidential Office that will mark the National Day of the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.

The delegation is also scheduled to meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) and Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啓臣) of the opposition Kuomintang before wrapping up its brief visit on Thursday, MOFA said.

The delegation led by Santo, who served as the Senate's president from 2019 to 2022, also consists of Senators Junzo Yamamoto, Hirofumi Takinami, Masamune Wada and Mizuho Umemura, MOFA said.

According to MOFA, the visiting senators are also members of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, a cross-party group in the Japanese Diet dedicated to promoting ties between Taipei and Tokyo.

Furuya Keiji, head of the cross-party group, told CNA last week in Tokyo that the delegation would not include House of Representatives members because the lower chamber was to be dissolved Wednesday ahead of new snap elections set for Oct. 27.

The new elections were called by Shigeru Ishiba, who assumed the office of prime minister on Oct. 1 after being elected as the new leader of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Sept. 27.

He replaced previous prime minister Fumio Kishida, who decided not to run for reelection as leader of the LDP because of the scandals that had tainted his administration.

Keiji, who has served as a representative since 1990, said that while the size of the delegation would be smaller than in previous years, the delegates were all strong advocates for more exchanges between Japan and Taiwan.