TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chief Representative Katayama Kazuyuki expressed hope for lasting peace in Taiwan at a 228 commemoration concert on Saturday.

Katayama conveyed condolences to the victims of the 228 Massacre and paid tribute to the courage of earlier generations, according to the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association. He also noted that Taiwan’s democratic system has developed steadily, highlighting the historical significance of the violence and the martial law period that followed.

The concert was held at Jinan Presbyterian Church in Taipei and was organized by the Four Seasons Bean Ensemble. The ensemble performed several classic Taiwanese and Japanese songs, including “April Rain” from the “Four Seasons Suite,” composed by Deng Yu-hsien (鄧雨賢), known as the father of Taiwanese folk songs. The program featured songs that had been banned during Taiwan’s martial law period.

The Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association said it would continue to deepen Japan–Taiwan friendship through cultural exchanges and work together to contribute to peace.

Last week, President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said confronting history requires truth, not fear. Transitional justice is not rooted in hatred or ideology but in remembrance and the healing of wounds. He added that the clearer society’s understanding of its own history, the stronger the democratic community will become.

The National Security Bureau fully declassified all 1,369 volumes of political archives from Taiwan’s martial law era on Feb. 23. To implement transitional justice and promote the opening of political archives, the NSB conducted a comprehensive self-initiated review over the past 16 months and transferred physical and digital records to the National Archives Administration.

The documents cover a wide range of topics, including security and counterintelligence systems, intelligence agency operations, and investigations into “subversive” publications and anonymous letters.