When President Ching-te Lai met with Rep. Akihisa Nagashima, former Assistant to the Prime Minister of Japan, this afternoon (11th), he said that Taiwan and Japan not only face natural disasters and epidemics together, but also face the challenge of authoritarian expansion. He also pointed out that Taiwan will expand the holding of the "Han Kuang Exercise" and the "Urban Resilience Exercise" this year, and will continue to strengthen its national defense capabilities and the defense resilience of the whole society in the future. It looks forward to deepening cooperation with Japan in areas such as disaster prevention and early warning, information security protection, critical infrastructure, submarine cable security, and semiconductor industries to jointly create a more resilient democratic supply chain and protect the happiness of the two peoples.

In his speech, the President said that he was very happy to meet two old friends at the Presidential Palace today. I still remember that the last time I communicated with Rep. Akihisa Nagashima was in December last year. This time Rep. Nagashima came to Taiwan to participate in the Taiwan Strait situation policy simulation organized by the "Japan Strategic Research Forum" and the "Fuwa Conference". He continued to show his emphasis on regional peace and concern for Taiwan. He would like to express his sincere gratitude.

The President also pointed out that Special Advisor Xiao Mingming of the Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly's "Liberal Democratic Party Japan-Taiwan Friendship Parliamentarian Alliance" is an old friend of his when he was the mayor of Tainan. In 2024, Special Advisor Xiao Mingming made a special trip to Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony of him and Vice President Hsiao Meiqin. Meeting again today, I feel particularly cordial, and I am very much looking forward to the conversation and exchange later.

The president pointed out that Taiwan and Japan are geographically close, their people are close to each other, and they share universal values ​​such as freedom, democracy, and human rights; our friendship has long gone beyond friends and is like family. During past epidemics, Taiwan and Japan provided medical supplies to each other; during the 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake and the Hualien earthquake, people from both sides immediately extended a helping hand. Last month, a strong earthquake occurred in Kumamoto, and the people of Taiwan were also very concerned. Both the government and the private sector have launched disaster relief operations. He would like to express his condolences to the affected people again, and hoped that the injured would recover soon and that the reconstruction work in the affected areas would be successful.

The president believes that Taiwan and Japan face natural disasters and epidemics together, as well as the challenges of authoritarian expansion. He has always believed that peace is priceless and there are no winners in wars; peace cannot rely on the goodwill of the aggressor, but must be backed by strength. He also stated that after taking office, he specially designated the "National Unity Month" and combined the most important annual military exercise "Hankuang Exercise" with the "Urban Resilience Exercise" conducted in different regions across the country. This year, both exercises were held on a larger scale than before, and they will be conducted more comprehensively in the future. Taiwan will continue to strengthen its national defense capabilities and the defense resilience of the whole society, and also looks forward to continuing to deepen cooperation with Japan in areas such as disaster prevention and early warning, information security protection, critical infrastructure, and submarine cable security.

The president further stated that Taiwan has advantages in semiconductors and artificial intelligence, while Japan has deep capabilities in key materials, equipment and precision manufacturing, and can jointly build a more resilient democratic supply chain. The "17 strategic areas" proposed by Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae and the "13 strategic industries" proposed by Executive President Zhuo Yongtai all cover industries such as semiconductors, artificial intelligence, and information communications. I believe that industrial exchanges between Taiwan and Japan will be closer in the future, and the road for the two countries to walk side by side will become wider and more stable.

Finally, the President once again thanked Representative Akihisa Nagashima and Special Advisor Xiao Mingming for their long-term support to Taiwan, and looked forward to continuing to work together to protect the happiness of the two peoples.

When Rep. Akihisa Nagashima delivered his speech, he first thanked President Lai for taking the time to meet with him during the "Hankuang Exercise", and thanked President Lai and all walks of life in Taiwan for their deep condolences and support in response to the Kumamoto earthquake.

Representative Akihisa Nagashima pointed out that President Lai and Taiwan have always shown an unswerving attitude in the face of severe and intense military and economic pressure from neighboring countries. He would like to express his high recognition and appreciation again, and believes that there is much for Japan to learn from.

Rep. Akihisa Nagashima mentioned that he came to Taiwan this time to participate in a joint policy simulation event between Taiwan, Japan and the United States co-organized by the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies (JFSS) and the Fukuoka Kai. The participants also had a consensus and hoped to invite experts from the Philippines, Australia and other countries to participate next year. The US participants also proposed that all countries in the first island chain should unite and continue to work hard to maintain regional peace and stability. Through this policy simulation event, participants also gained a deeper understanding of the importance of unity and cooperation among regional countries.

Representative Akihisa Nagashima also mentioned that human rights and democracy are extremely important common values ​​between Japan and Taiwan, and he would like to express his sincere respect again for Taiwan's firm defense of these values. In the future, Taiwan and Japan should further deepen their connection in common values ​​such as human rights and democracy in addition to security guarantees.

The visiting guests were accompanied by Kazuyuki Katayama, representative of the Taipei office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, Foreign Minister Lin Jialong, and Hong Yingjie, secretary-general of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association. They came to the Presidential Palace to meet the president. National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu was also present.