TAIPEI (Kyodo) — Close to 200 people from Japan, including dozens of politicians, are expected to attend Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te’s inauguration ceremony on May 20, the island’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday.
At present, 37 cross-party members of Japan’s parliament and over 140 visitors from various local and non-governmental groups are expected to come to Taiwan for the inauguration event, the ministry said.
The delegation of Japanese legislators includes some who formerly served as Cabinet members. The ministry said the dispatch “fully demonstrates the friendship and support” from Japan for the island’s new government.
Despite not having any formal diplomatic ties, Taipei and Tokyo share an amicable relationship.
In 2016, some 250 people from Japan attended incumbent President Tsai Ing-wen’s inauguration ceremony. They included Keiji Furuya, current head of a cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers dedicated to strengthening Tokyo-Taipei relations, and Seishiro Eto, former vice speaker of the House of Representatives.
The number of Japanese participants was the largest among the roughly 700 foreign guests from more than 50 countries.
Lai, the incumbent vice president who heads the ruling, independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party, defeated his two opposition party rivals in a closely watched election in January, securing a third consecutive four-year term for the DPP for the first time.
