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Japanese foreign
minister hails cooperative relations
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff reporter
Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba yesterday delivered a written statement
to the people of Taiwan saying that the Japanese government expects that the
pragmatic and cooperative relationship which exists between the two countries
will continue to develop solidly.
Japan and Taiwan are neighboring countries and it is unavoidable they have some
unresolved issues due to their proximity, Gemba said in the statement which was
written in Mandarin and published on the Web site of the Interchange
Association, Japan ¡X the de facto Japanese embassy in Taiwan given the absence
of official diplomatic ties.
Nevertheless, what is important is how to find solutions to pending issues that
can take the whole picture into account, Gemba said.
Gemba added that both Japan and Taiwan have to make genuine efforts to exchange
views and react to one other in a rational way to avoid any single issue
negatively affecting the overall bilateral relationship which exists between the
neighboring states.
In his statement, Gemba did not specify the pending issues to which he referred,
but it was presumably a nod to competing sovereignty claims both countries
maintain over the Diaoyutai Islands (³¨³½¥x), currently under the effective control
of Japan, where the island chain is known as the Senkakus.
As a foreign minister, Gemba said that safety of Japanese expatriates is one of
the issues that concerns him most. That Japanese expatriates and Japanese
tourists live and travel safely in Taiwan shows that Taiwan is a mature society
and the friendship towards Japanese is deeply rooted in Taiwan, he said.
Gemba said he appreciated that people in Taiwan have been behaving in a rational
and friendly way toward Japanese in Taiwan and hoped that Japanese expatriates
could continue to live in the country without fear for their safety.
He mentioned in the statement President Ma Ying-jeou¡¦s (°¨^¤E) recent proposal of
the East China Sea peace initiative and the ensuing guidelines he put foreward,
which were aimed at peacefully resolving the ongoing dispute over a series of
islets also claimed by China.
Although some contents of the peace initiative and the guidelines were
unacceptable to Japan, the country realized the proposals were meant to ensure
peace and stability in the East China Sea region because that remains in the
interests of all concerned parties, he said.
It remains Japan¡¦s strong desire that there should be no event that could
escalate future tensions, Gemba said.
Gemba said Japan shares Taiwan¡¦s expectations that both sides can reopen talks
on fishing rights in the region and to begin constructive dialogue on those
issues of concern to both sides.
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