Taipei, July 19 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (???) and Vice President Lai Ching-te (???) met separately with Akie Abe, the widow of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, in Taipei on Wednesday.
Speaking with Abe at the Presidential Office, Tsai described Shinzo Abe as “a forever friend of Taiwan,” adding that the former Japanese prime minister had been remembered fondly by many people in Taiwan because of his “concrete action in supporting Taiwan.”
Shinzo Abe, Japan’s longest-serving prime minister, died on July 8, 2022 at the age of 67, hours after he was shot twice by a man with a makeshift shotgun on a street in Nara, near Osaka, during an election campaign.
Shinzo Abe, who served as prime minister from 2006-2007 and from 2012-2020, was survived by his wife, Akie Abe, a radio DJ and daughter of a Japanese confectionary mogul.
Tsai said Taiwan and Japan were partners that valued democracy and freedom, and that both sides should continue working together to foster prosperity around the world.
With continued efforts from both sides, Tsai added, cooperation between Taiwan and Japan in various fields would continue to flourish.
In her remarks, Abe thanked Taiwanese society for remembering her husband with such kindness, adding that she would do her utmost to promote a strong relationship between the two nations.
Abe, 61, along with members of Japan’s House of Councillors Eriko Yamatani and Tsuneo Kitamura, were invited to visit Taiwan from July 17-20 by the Taiwan-based Friends of Shinzo Abe Association.
The meeting followed Abe’s visit to the grave of Taiwan’s former President Lee Teng-hui (???) in New Taipei’s Wuichihshan Military Cemetery, which the late Japanese prime minister had also expressed an interest in visiting.
Abe also met with Vice President Lai at the Presidential Office later the same day, with the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) candidate for Taiwan’s presidential election next January pledging to deepen bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Japan.
Lai also spoke about his visit to Tokyo last August for the private funeral of Shinzo Abe. At that time, Lai’s previously unannounced trip was characterized by the Presidential Office as being made “in a private capacity.”
Shinzo Abe was considered by some in Taiwan, especially DPP supporters, as a staunch supporter of Taiwan, partly because he had introduced the idea that “a Taiwan contingency is a contingency for Japan” and advocated closer ties between Taiwan and Japan after he stepped down as prime minister in 2020.
However, his nationalistic policies also made him a controversial figure in Japanese politics. One of the controversies surrounding Shinzo Abe was the change of Japanese legislation in 2015 by his government to permit the overseas deployment of Japanese troops for combat missions, which led to protests in the country.
