Recently, the Chinese Communist Party has restricted travel to Japan and suspended imports of Japanese seafood, aiming to put economic pressure on Japan. Against this backdrop, the long-standing mutual assistance and friendship between Taiwan and Japan have become more precious. Lee Yi-yang, the Republic of China’s representative in Japan, stated in an interview with the Central News Agency that the close and valuable relationship between Taiwan and Japan, with mutual support in disasters and pandemics, has built deep trust between the two societies.
Following the strong backlash from the Chinese Communist Party against Japanese Prime Minister Kanai Sanae’s remarks on Taiwan, and the restriction on the import of Japanese seafood, ROC President Lai Ching-te posted on social media to support Japan by eating sushi, while Lee Yi-yang called on people to “buy out” Japanese agricultural and aquatic products, sparking enthusiastic responses from the Taiwanese people. Some supermarkets in Taiwan have also launched the “Taiwan-Japan Friendship Support Month,” strongly supporting Japanese scallops.
Lee Yi-yang pointed out that in 2021, the Chinese Communist Party similarly banned the import of Taiwanese pineapples, and it was Japan who helped resolve the pineapple crisis. During the COVID-19 (CCP virus) pandemic, when Taiwan faced obstacles in vaccine procurement, Japan was the first to donate vaccines. Taiwan and Japan have extended mutual assistance to each other in times of natural disasters, establishing a very deep emotional bond. Therefore, with Japanese seafood products being impacted this time, the Taiwanese people, following President Lai’s call, are strongly supporting Japanese seafood products.
Lee Yi-yang mentioned that among the Japanese seafood products affected this time, scallops were hit the hardest. Taiwan, originally the second-largest buyer of Japanese scallops, is now striving to become the largest buyer to help Japan minimize the damage.
Broader agricultural trade data also indicates a deep mutual beneficial structure between the two countries. Lee Yi-yang said, “Out of 10 apples exported from Japan, 8 are bought by Taiwan, and out of 10 grape bunches, 6 are bought by Taiwan.” With such a good relationship, in the current tense situation between China and Japan, Taiwan is stepping in to help Japan out, and everyone is contributing their efforts. He believes that if Taiwan needs help, Japan will also extend a helping hand.
He emphasized that this figure is actually quite significant; considering Taiwan’s population ranks 57th in the world with only 23 million people, the fact that Taiwan can “buy out” Japanese fruits and other agricultural products in this manner demonstrates a deep friendship between the two sides.
On the other hand, the Japanese industry has begun to rethink the risks of over-relying on Chinese tourists. While China is Japan’s largest source of foreign tourists, the market’s over-reliance makes it vulnerable to political changes. Therefore, the Japanese tourism industry is considering diversifying its sources by shifting towards more stable markets in Europe, America, and other regions.
In this adjustment process, the importance of Taiwanese tourists is becoming more prominent. Lee Yi-yang stated that Taiwan is Japan’s third-largest source of tourists, with 6.04 million people visiting Japan last year, and an expected surpassing of 6.6 million people by the end of this year.
He mentioned that in terms of expenditure, Taiwanese tourists contribute approximately 1.1 trillion yen annually, higher than South Korea, which ranks first in tourist numbers (8.81 million people) with 0.94 trillion yen spent, showing that Taiwanese tourists have deeper pockets.
Lee Yi-yang emphasized that given the increasing uncertainty in regional geopolitics, the importance of Taiwan-Japan friendship and economic complementarity will only grow. From food trade to tourism, Taiwan and Japan will continue to expand their cooperation in the future, assisting Japan in diversifying its reliance on a single market. In economic and trade, as well as people-to-people exchanges, they will work together to create a more resilient partnership.
(Transferred from Central News Agency)