TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese lawmakers met Taiwan People’s Party leaders in Taipei on Thursday to discuss overseas voting and trade issues.

The delegation, led by Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker Hoshino Tsuyoshi, also included Iwata Kazuchika and Suzuki Eikei, per CNA. They were received by TPP Secretary-General Chou Yu-hsiu (周榆修), Policy and Strategy Department Executive Director Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶), and Foreign Affairs Department Director Lin Tzu-yu (林子宇), per UDN.

Chou thanked Japan’s ruling party for its long-standing support of Taiwan, citing former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s remark that “a Taiwan contingency is a Japan contingency.”

On Taiwan’s international standing, Chou said the country is excluded from many global organizations and lacks diplomatic recognition, yet contributes in healthcare, technology, economics, and democracy. He added the TPP hopes Taiwan will one day participate internationally on equal footing.

The Japanese lawmakers also shared their experience with overseas voting, which was used in Taiwan for the first time in this year’s Upper House election. More than 20,000 Japanese residents voted at polling stations in Taipei and Kaohsiung, part of 232 overseas locations worldwide.

Chou said the TPP supports absentee voting but favors limiting it to domestic transfers, warning that overseas voting could be misinterpreted as collusion with Beijing and stray from its intended purpose of convenience.

On tariffs, Lai criticized Taiwan’s lack of transparency in trade negotiations. The delegation said their government shares details publicly through press briefings, with ministers held accountable to lawmakers during budget reviews.