Taipei, Oct. 30 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) conferred the Order of the Brilliant Star with Special Grand Cordon on outgoing Japanese envoy to Taiwan Hiroyasu Izumi on Monday, in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the promotion of cordial bilateral relations.
Addressing the ceremony at the Presidential Office, Tsai said she bestowed the medal on Izumi on behalf of Taiwan’s people, not just in recognition of his contribution to the Taiwan-Japan ties, but also to express Taiwan’s sincerest appreciation of his efforts.
In 2019 Izumi assumed the office of chief representative at the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Taipei Office. The association represents Japanese interests in Taiwan in the absence of formal ties.
With Izumi’s help, Taiwan and Japan have become even more closely linked over the past four years, as evidenced by the fact that the two countries cooperated to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, Tsai said.
Taiwan and Japan also signed 10 important agreements on a wide range of areas that included transportation, environment and justice during that period, the president added.
Over the past four years Taiwan and Japan have proved to the rest of the world that like-minded countries sharing the same values of democracy and freedom can tackle global challenges together while creating a “virtuous cycle” to contribute to the region’s prosperity and development, she said.
Quoting Izumi as describing Taiwan and Japan as irreplaceable friends when he assumed the Taipei post in 2019, Tsai praised the Japanese envoy for having set a milestone in bilateral relations which will be remembered by the people of the two countries.
For his part, Izumi said he felt honored to receive the medal from Tsai, adding that he has had a wonderful time over the past four years in his dealings with Taiwanese people of diverse backgrounds from both the government and private sectors.
Calling the friendship between Taiwan and Japan a “miraculous treasure,” the departing representative expressed thanks for the assistance he received from Tsai and the people of Taiwan.
Over the past four years, he said, the world has viewed Taiwan from a brand new and more profound prospective, given the country’s key role in the restructuring of global supply chains and its performance during the COVID-19 pandemic.
As President Tsai said in her Double Ten National Day address, “Taiwan has made itself the ‘Taiwan of the world,'” he said, lauding it as a major diplomatic breakthrough by the Tsai administration.
Izumi invited Tsai to visit Japan and give speeches after she ends her second term next year, as she enjoys high popularity in Japan and Taiwan often receives extensive coverage in Japanese media reports.