Japan Reaffirms Its Shared Values With Taiwan After the Taiwanese Presidential Election

Confetti flies over the stage and crowd as Taiwan's Vice President and presidential-elect from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Lai Ching-te (center L) and his running mate Hsiao Bi-khim (center R) speak to supporters at a rally at the party's headquarters in Taipei, Taiwan, on Jan. 13, 2024. (Annabelle Chih /Getty Images)

In the 2024 Taiwanese presidential and legislative election on Jan. 13, current Vice President Lai Ching-te, also known as William Lai, was elected the 16th president. The Japanese government was the first to congratulate him, and Mr. Lai held talks with an official Japanese delegation the day after his election, emphasizing the close relationship between Japan and Taiwan.

Mr. Lai was born in New Taipei City, and his father died in a mining accident when he was young. He studied medicine at the National Taiwan University and received a master’s degree in public health from Harvard University. The year 1996 saw Taiwan’s first direct presidential election, and China threatened to fire missiles into the Taiwan Strait. In the face of Taiwan’s crisis, Mr. Lai decided to give up medicine and enter politics. Since then, he has served as a member of the Legislative Yuan, mayor of Tainan, and president of the Executive Yuan, and he is now chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party and Vice President of Taiwan.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regards Mr. Lai as a foe due to his hard-line attitude against them.

Japan’s Stance

On Jan. 13, after Mr. Lai was confirmed as Taiwan’s new president, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa immediately issued a statement congratulating Mr. Lai on his election and the smooth implementation of the democratic elections in Taiwan.

In the statement, Ms. Kamikawa said, “For Japan, Taiwan is an extremely crucial partner and an important friend, with which it shares fundamental values and enjoys close economic relations and people-to-people exchanges. The Government of Japan will work toward further deepening cooperation and exchanges between Japan and Taiwan, based on its position to maintain a working relationship on a non-governmental basis.”

Regarding the Taiwan issue, Ms. Kamikawa hopes that it can be resolved peacefully through dialogue, thereby contributing to regional peace and stability.

In response to the Japanese government’s statement, the Chinese Embassy in Japan issued a response on Jan. 14, saying that the Japanese Foreign Minister’s remarks were serious interference in the internal affairs of China and expressed strong dissatisfaction and resolute opposition to them.

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Yoshimasa Hayashi, Japan’s chief cabinet secretary, rebutted China at a press conference on Jan. 15, saying that Japan has always congratulated Taiwan on the successful holding of democratic elections. He reiterated, “Taiwan and Japan share the same universal values, including freedom, democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. Taiwan is an extremely important partner of Japan and maintains close economic ties and people-to-people contacts.”

Masahisa Sato, Japan’s former deputy foreign minister, told the media on Jan. 14, “China’s opposition shows that Japan has done the right thing.” In the Taiwan election, “Rather than it being a defeat for the Kuomintang, the biggest loser was China.” The Kuomintang was one of the opposition parties.

Japan’s former Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera also told the media on Jan. 14 that the CCP’s labeling of Mr. Lai as a “Taiwanese independence force” is not true. Mr. Lai said he wanted to “maintain the status quo,” which will not lead to a unilateral declaration of independence.

Mr. Onodera believes that the CCP has not taken military action as drastic as it has in the past during elections in Taiwan, but future military actions cannot be ruled out. “The U.S. is already burdened by the wars in the Middle East and Ukraine, and the situation will become even more serious if another conflict breaks out in Asia,” he said. He emphasized that Japan is not an outsider to the CCP’s various actions and should remain involved in the future.

In addition to Japan, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and more than 50 countries and organizations around the world, including the European Union, congratulated Mr. Lai on his election victory.

Mr. Blinken said in a statement that the partnership between the United States and Taiwan is based on democratic values and is therefore expanding and deepening in terms of economic and cultural ties. The statement said the United States is committed to maintaining peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and to resolving differences peacefully, free from coercion and repression. The statement also expressed confidence that “Taiwan will continue to serve as a model for all who strive for freedom, democracy, and prosperity.

Tsuyoshi Nojima, a professor at Japan’s Daito Bunka University, said that how to deal with the CCP in today’s world has become an issue globally, and Taiwan, which is on the front line, is a role model. Through the presidential election, many countries are watching how Taiwan has been able to maintain its democracy and peace through the election.

Lai Discusses Future With Japan

The day after Mr. Lai was elected president, he met with officials from Japanese organizations in Taiwan and members of the Japanese Diet, Japan’s legislative body.

On Jan.14, Mr. Lai met with Mitsuo Ohashi, president of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, a permanent Japanese organization in Taiwan, at the headquarters of the Democratic Progressive Party in Taipei. Mr. Lai emphasized Japan’s close partnership with Taiwan, while Mr. Ohashi said that Japanese people understand the importance of Japan-Taiwan relations. Both sides agreed to enhance Japan-Taiwan cooperative relations.

Later in the day, Mr. Lai held a meeting with Keiji Furuya, leader of a Japan-Taiwan parliamentarians’ conference. He expressed his “strong desire for cooperation between Taiwan and Japan,” saying that Japan and Taiwan have great potential for economic cooperation in areas such as the semiconductor industry and that he hoped to increase investment and trade. He also said that meeting with the Japanese delegation the day after the election “is a symbol of the close relationship between Taiwan and Japan.”

Although Japan does not have formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, it has become Taiwan’s most trusted and important partner in Asia in the areas of science and technology, economic and trade, and cultural exchanges. More importantly, the CCP’s bullying tactics against both Japan and Taiwan have brought the two countries closer.

Since former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe came to power, Japan’s relationship with Taiwan has been substantially strengthened, and his successors, former Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, have continued to follow the direction he set out.

An Unofficial but Close Relationship

On July 11, 2022, Mr. Lai visited Japan to pay tribute to Abe at his funeral in Tokyo after his assassination.

Lai Ching-te (middle) attends Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's funeral in Tokyo on July 12, 2022. (Philip Fong/AFP via Getty Images)

Since the severing of diplomatic relations between Japan and Taiwan after China’s admission to the U.N., visits to Japan by Taiwan’s top officials have been very unusual. Mr. Lai’s visit to Japan in 2022 was Taiwan’s highest-ranking official’s visit since 1972. His visit was kept low profile as a “family friend.”

On July 17, 2023, Mr. Abe’s widow, Akie Abe, visited Taiwan, and Mr. Lai delivered a speech on behalf of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen at the welcoming dinner, praising Mr. Abe as an international statesman who had contributed to peace and stability in Japan and the Indo-Pacific.