TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The appearance of Taiwan Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) in Tokyo on Monday (July 11) drew wide attention from Japanese news media.
Hours after being spotted visiting the residence of the assassinated former Japanese prime minister, Shinzo Abe, Lai was seen attending a wake at Zojoji Temple later that evening. Japanese Prime Minister Kishida Fumio, U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, China's envoy to Japan Kong Xuanyou (孔鉉佑), and other political heavyweights also attended the service.
Lai Ching-te was seen at Zojoji Temple to mourn Abe in Tokyo, Monday evening. (CNA photo)
Despite the Japanese government not announcing Lai's visit and being downplayed as "a personal trip" by Taiwan's foreign ministry, after the media broke the news, Lai's visit to Abe's home gained extensive media coverage by top Japanese media outlets, including NHK, Asahi Shimbun, and Fuji News Network.
Lai is the highest-ranking Taiwanese official to visit Japan in 50 years, since the two countries severed diplomatic ties in 1972. NHK described the trip as "unusual" and was expecting a backlash from Beijing.
Asahi Shimbun described Lai as a Japan-friendly Taiwanese politician who had visited Japan multiple times before serving as Taiwan's vice president and has close ties with several Japanese politicians. Lai was even touted as a presidential hopeful for 2024.
The last time Lai visited Japan was in May 2019, when he was running for the Democratic Progressive Party's presidential primary. During his five-day trip, he visited former Japanese Prime Ministers Mori Yoshiro and the late Kaifu Toshiki, as well as then parliamentary member Kishi Nobuo, who is Abe's younger brother and is currently serving as defense minister. It remains unknown whether Lai had met with Abe during that trip, media reported.
Abe was known as the most Taiwan-friendly Japanese prime minister, while his mother, Kishi Yoko, also has a close relationship with Taiwanese expat groups in Japan. She has reportedly attended Taiwan's National Day celebration banquets hosted by its de-facto embassy in Tokyo four times as of 2021.
