Japan agency in charge of Taiwan affairs names new chair

Taipei, June 24 (CNA) A semi-official organization representing the interests of Japan in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties has named a former head of a Tokyo-based multinational insurance holding company as its new chair.

Shuzo Sumi, the former head of Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc, the largest property/casualty insurance group in Japan in terms of revenue, replaced Mitsuo Ohashi, who chaired the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association (JTEA) over the past 14 years, the JTEA announced Monday.

Sumi officially began his tenure as JTEA chair on June 20, according to the JTEA.

In a press statement released on the JTEA website, Sumi, 77, thanked his predecessor, Ohashi, for serving in the post since June 2011.

Sumi said that before taking up the post, he interacted with Taiwan in the business sector for decades.

As the new chairman of the JTEA, he feels honored to be able to contribute to Japan-Taiwan cooperation in various fields, including the business sector, he was quoted as saying in the press statement.

Sumi said that during a recent private tour to Taiwan with his family, they felt the rich culture of Taiwan, as well as the warmth of Taiwanese friends towards Japan, leading him to again decide to work hard to promote Japan-Taiwan cooperation.

For Japan, Taiwan is an extremely important partner and dear friend, as both shares basic values such as democracy, freedom, and the rule of law and have close economic and people-to-people relations, Sumi said.

The JTEA is headquartered in Tokyo and has offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung. Its Taipei office functions as the de facto Japanese embassy in Taiwan, and its current representative is Kazuyuki Katayama.

The JTEA chair, meanwhile, serves more of a ceremonial role.

Its counterpart in Japan is the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, Taiwan's de facto embassy in Japan.