A High-Profile Taiwan Leader Visits Japan For 1st Time In 50 Years To Mourn Shinzo Abe: Why It's Significant

The wake for Japan’s assasinated former Shinzo Abe was held Monday in Tokyo. Among the visitors was Taiwan’s Vice President William Lai, who made a rare but significant trip to the neighboring archipelago.

What Happened: Lai is the seniormost Taiwanese official to visit Japan since Tokyo switched official ties to the mainland in 1972, reported Japan Today.

Lai also visited Abe’s residence along with Taiwan’s de-facto diplomatic representative to Japan, Frank Hsieh, reported Japan Today, citing local media reports. 

Taiwan’s presidential office did not reportedly comment on the visit of Lai but said the latter was a “close friend for many years” with Abe and his family.

President Tsai Ing-wen said Taiwan’s flags would fly at half-mast on July 11 to mourn the death of Abe.

To mourn the passing of Prime Minister Abe & thank him for his great friendship to Taiwan, I have instructed our government to fly the national flag at half-mast on July 11. We will never forget his profound contributions to freedom & democracy worldwide.

— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) July 9, 2022

Why It Matters: Abe died on Friday after he was shot in Nara on the Honshu island while delivering a speech in favor of a candidate running for the Japanese Diet’s upper house.

Japan’s foreign ministry did not immediately comment on Lai’s visit to the country, according to Japan Today.

China does not accept Taiwan’s right to enjoy state-to-state relations and considers the latter a renegade province.

Taiwan’s leader Tsai said in a separate tweet in Japanese that she would continue to work on Abe’s legacy of fostering closer ties between Taiwan and Japan.

台日関係の発展のために尽くした安倍晋三元首相の貢献に感謝します。安倍元首相がかつてピアノで弾いた東日本大震災の復興支援曲『花は咲く』が、困難に立ち向かい、支え合って生きていこうとする気持ちを描いているように、台湾と日本も努力を続け、もっと多くの花を咲かせていきたいと願っています。 pic.twitter.com/NQVDqN9Pgx

— 蔡英文 Tsai Ing-wen (@iingwen) July 11, 2022

Japan’s ruling LDP won the House of Councillor’s election following Abe’s assassination. The victory is seen as bringing it closer to amending Japan’s pacifist constitution for the first time since it was enacted in 1947, reported The Mainichi.

China has warned Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida about carrying out the amendment.

A spokesperson for the Chinese foreign ministry said, “We hope that Japan will earnestly learn the lessons of history, adhere to the path of peaceful development and take concrete actions that would win the trust of its Asian neighbors and the international community,” reported Japan Times separately. 

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