TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) congratulated Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on his reelection after he won a run-off vote in the National Diet. 

“Taiwan-Japan relations have always been close and friendly,” Lai said in an X post, adding that he looked forward to working closely with the new government to deepen bilateral relations. “Together, we can safeguard democratic values ​​and promote peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region,” he said.

In a parliament session on Monday, Ishiba defeated Yoshihiko Noda, the leader of the opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan.

Ishiba replaced Kishida Fumio as prime minister and leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) on Oct. 1. After three days in office, he held a snap election for the parliament’s lower house to consolidate support, which resulted in the LDP losing its parliamentary majority. 

Ishiba is a staunch supporter of Taiwan. In August, he visited Taiwan, meeting with Lai to discuss regional security and the need to strengthen bilateral ties. He said, “Today’s Ukraine might become tomorrow’s East Asia,” and pointed to the urgent desire to prevent this.

In October, Ishiba said Japan would prepare for "any development" in the Taiwan Strait, as China carried out a large-scale military exercise around Taiwan. "Peace and security in and around the Taiwan Strait are an extremely important issue for the region. Japan will carefully monitor the situation," he added.