Two groups of Japanese lawmakers visit Taiwan

Taipei, Dec. 22 (CNA) Two groups of Japanese lawmakers, including a former Japanese justice minister and a former special adviser to former Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, are currently visiting Taiwan, where they will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Monday.

House of Representatives members; former Justice Minister Keisuke Suzuki; Akihisa Nagashima, a special adviser to Ishiba; and Junichi Kanda, an ex-Japanese vice minister of justice, are visiting Taiwan from Monday to Thursday, MOFA said in a press release.

The group of three will meet with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴), former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), as well as the foreign and defense ministers, among other officials, during their stay, MOFA said.

The ministry added that during these meetings, both sides will exchange views on issues relating to Taiwan-Japan relations, including the latest regional situations, economic security, and bilateral trade developments.

In a separate press statement, MOFA said another five-member Japanese legislative delegation led by Hirofumi Takinami, a member of Japan's House of Councillors, is also visiting Taiwan from Monday through Thursday.

During the group's stay, they will also meet with President Lai, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰), Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍), and New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜).

Takinami, who is married to a Taiwanese woman, has for years enthusiastically promoted Taiwan-Japan parliamentary exchanges, MOFA said.

According to Lin Yu-hui (林郁慧), deputy head of MOFA's Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, as many as 30 Japanese lawmakers will visit Taiwan in late December and early 2026, after the ending of an extraordinary Diet session on Dec. 17.

These frequent visits show closer bilateral bonding and exchanges on all fronts, Lin said during a MOFA briefing on Dec. 16.

Japanese ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) heavyweight and Diet member Koichi Hagiuda is also expected to visit Taiwan this week to meet Lai, according to Lin at the same time.

Hagiuda is LDP executive acting secretary-general and doubles as secretary-general of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, which promotes bilateral ties in both countries' lawmaking bodies.

He will be joined by city councilors from his hometown of Hachioji City, and they will visit Hachioji's sister city Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan during their trip, Lin said.