TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Thursday (July 21) that seven members of Japan’s National Diet will visit Taiwan between July 27-30.

The group members, who sit on a bipartisan commission dedicated to ensuring the safety of Japan, will be headed by Ishiba Shigeru and Hamada Yasukazu, who are members of the House of Representatives and who have both served as defense ministers.

Other visiting politicians include members of the House of Representatives Maehara Seiji, Nagashima Akihisa, Watanabe Shu, and Kitagami Keiro, as well as member of the House of Councilors Shimizu Takayuki, according to MOFA.

The Japanese lawmakers will be meeting President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), Vice President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), and Taiwan-Japan Relations Association Chair Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全). They will also visit Cabinet agencies and think tanks for security issue exchanges.

This represents yet another visit by Japan’s parliament members following one in May, by a delegation from Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Youth Division. Trips like this are conducive to advancing mutual understanding and deepening the bilateral relationship, said MOFA.