Keiji Furuya, the head of a cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers dedicated to strengthening Tokyo-Taipei relations, met with Taiwan President-elect Lai Ching-te on Sunday to congratulate him on his election victory the previous day, and expressed anticipation toward deepening bilateral cooperation.
Furuya told Lai that his win in Saturday's leadership contest was "a historic victory for the whole world, not only in Taiwan" and that the lawmaker looks forward to working with the president-elect to promote Taiwan-Japan cooperation, according to Lai's Democratic Progressive Party.
Thanking Furuya, Lai said he has visited Japan many times and has deep feelings for Taiwan-Japan cooperation, while he thinks both sides have significant potential for cooperation, particularly in the economic sector, the DPP said.
Lai said the two sides "very effectively complement each other in the semiconductor industry" and added that he is also happy to see Taiwan's high-tech industry continue to thrive in the Japanese market and increase bilateral investment and trade.
The incumbent Taiwan vice president and the chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council met at the DPP headquarters in Taipei.
Furuya also held talks with President Tsai Ing-wen at her office in the capital and pledged that Japan will work closely with other countries to jointly maintain peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, according to Tsai's office.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the Chinese Embassy in Tokyo expressed "strong dissatisfaction and firm opposition" over Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa's congratulatory message for Lai the previous day following his election victory.
The embassy said such a practice "seriously interferes with China's internal affairs and violates the one-China principle," stressing Beijing's firm opposition to any form of official exchanges between Taiwan and countries that have diplomatic relations with China.
It urged Tokyo to refrain from disrupting peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and China-Japan relations.
Communist-led China regards the self-ruled democratic island as a renegade province to be brought into its fold by force if necessary. The two sides have been governed separately since they split in 1949 due to a civil war.
==Kyodo
