New Southbound Policy Portal

President Tsai congratulates new Japan PM Yoshihide Suga

President Tsai Ing-wen offered her congratulation on behalf of the government and people of Taiwan Sept. 16 to Yoshihide Suga, who was elected as Japan’s 99th prime minister at an extraordinary parliamentary session held earlier that day.
 
According to the Presidential Office, Tsai is looking forward to working with Suga, who also doubles as president of Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party, to advance the well-being of people in both countries.
 
Taiwan and Japan are like-minded partners, as underscored by the high volume of trade and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides, Tsai said. They also share the fundamental values of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law, she added.
 
The government will continue to promote diversified cooperation with Japan to foster an even deeper bilateral relationship, Tsai said, adding she thanks former PM Shinzo Abe for his long-term support of Taiwan and hopes he enjoys a rapid recovery from his health concerns.
 
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan is Taiwan’s third largest trading partner, while Taiwan is Japan’s fourth largest. Japan is also the top destination for travelers from Taiwan, who made 5 million visits to the country in 2019, while Japan is Taiwan’s second largest source of foreign visitors at 2 million annually. (SFC-E)
 
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