Tokyo, July 31 (CNA) Opposition Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) started a three-day “friendship tour” in Japan on Monday, where he attended a tea party held by a Japanese nonpartisan parliamentary group in Tokyo and sought to position Taiwan under his leadership as a “risk reducer.”
The incumbent New Taipei mayor departed from Taipei Songshan Airport Monday morning, making his first overseas trip since the KMT formally nominated him on July 23 to be the party’s candidate in the 2024 presidential election.
Hou began his trip with a visit to a Mazu temple in Tokyo, and then attended the tea party in the National Diet Building hosted by the Japan-Republic of China Diet Members’ Consultative Council, a group composed of around 300 Japanese cross-party parliamentarians.
In his opening remarks at the event, Hou said both countries deeply appreciate their enduring friendship, a sentiment he said is rooted in historical and cultural ties.
Drawing from his personal background, he said that his father’s exposure to Japanese education made Japan a familiar place to him.
Recalling the challenging times in 2021 when Taiwan faced a severe shortage of COVID-19 vaccines, Hou said Japan was the first nation to offer a helping hand, donating over 4 million vaccine doses.
The support both nations have shown each other during natural disasters, such as the Japan 311 earthquake and Taiwan’s 921 earthquake, serves as a testament to the friendship shared between Taiwan and Japan, he added.
In term of the political matters, Hou said that with the changing global landscape and tense relations across the Taiwan Strait, he aims to position Taiwan as a “risk reducer” and described his goal as safeguarding Taiwan’s democratic values and freedom, while also maintaining peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait.
On Tuesday, Hou is scheduled to be interviewed by Japanese media outlets and will visit political figures, according to his campaign office. The 66-year-old presidential nominee will attend a banquet with Taiwanese expatriates the next day, the office added.
On Thursday, Hou will visit Hibiya Matsumotoro, a roughly 120-year-old restaurant that is run by a descendant of Shokichi Umeya, a close friend of the father of the Republic of China and first leader of the KMT Sun Yat-sen (孫中山), the office said.
Hou is joined by John Feng (馮寄台), a former Taiwan representative to Japan, KMT think tank head Ko Chih-en (柯志恩), and Overseas Department head Chen I-hsin (陳以信) on the trip.
In response to reports that indicate Hou will meet with Liberal Democratic Party Vice President and former Japanese Prime Minister Taro Aso, Ko Chih-en told CNA on Monday: “I believe we will definitely meet with Aso.
“In Japan, we will have the opportunity to meet some very important figures. I think we should respect Japan’s arrangements and their handling of diplomatic affairs,” she said.
According to the KMT, Hou is the second presidential candidate from the opposition party to visit Japan following former President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) 2007 trip.
July 18: Vice President Lai to stop in U.S. on Paraguay trip: Blinken
July 2: KMT presidential candidate Hou files libel complaint against VP Lai
June 12: U.S. backs Taiwan presidential hopefuls in seeking dialogue with China: Envoy
June 9: Ko discusses his cross-strait stance with international media outlets in Tokyo
June 3: Lai urges voters to vote against China; Hou calls for cross-strait peace
April 28: Ko returns from U.S., set to begin presidential bid Saturday
April 22: Visit aimed at cementing ties with, learning from Singapore: Hou