Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) met with the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association Chairperson Shuzo Sumi on Thursday, May 7, a day after Sumi met with President Lai Ching-te (賴清德).

Han said that people-to-people exchanges have always been a foundation for advancing Taiwan-Japan relations. He highlighted the number of tourists traveling between the two destinations, which set a new record high last year. Nearly 6.8 million Taiwanese visitors went to Japan in 2025 and 1.5 million Japanese travelers came to Taiwan, making Japan Taiwan’s largest source of foreign tourism for the second year running.

Han also noted that the total value of bilateral trade between Taiwan and Japan reached US$84.8 billion last year. He added that TSMC investments in Japan reveal complementary industrial strengths of Taiwan and Japan as well as a solid foundation for high-tech cooperation.