TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said Friday the government was grateful to Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae for her supportive comments.
He made the remarks following a meeting with Sumi Shuzo, chair of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, which handles unofficial ties between Taipei and Tokyo.
Cho said Takaichi's remarks last month on peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait “moved us all very, very much” and represented “justice and peace.” Channel News Asia also reported that he expressed thanks to Takaichi, the Japanese government and people for upholding those principles.
The comments have fueled the worst diplomatic crisis between China and Japan in years, after Takaichi said in parliament that a hypothetical Chinese attack on Taiwan could prompt a military response from Tokyo. Beijing has angrily accused Japan of reviving militarism, leading Chinese airlines to cancel flights to Japan and block Japanese artists from performing there.
Cho noted that, in response to pressure on Japan, many Taiwanese are shifting their travel plans to visit the country and have pledged a warm welcome in Taiwan for Japanese performers, pop stars, and Japanese products.
He spoke after President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) announced an extra NT$1.25 trillion (US$40 billion) in defense spending in November to counter Chinese threats, stressing that "peace depends on strength." Japan, meanwhile, is advancing plans to deploy missiles on Yonaguni Island, about 110 kilometers off Taiwan's east coast, per AP.
Also this week, at the Japan–Taiwan Economic and Trade Conference in Taipei, the two nations signed a digital trade pact. The agreement was the first major accord since Takaichi Sanae’s comments.
