President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) delivered a prerecorded address this Tuesday for the 1st International Forum on Shinzo Abe and Modern Japan Studies expressing his hope that the two countries would continue deepening cooperation in various fields, jointly safeguarding democratic values and promoting regional peace, prosperity, and development.

The world's first Shinzo Abe Research Center was established last year at National Chengchi University (NCCU) in Taiwan. This Tuesday, the center hosted the inaugural forum in Tokyo with the theme “Abe's Grand Strategy and Taiwan-Japan Relations as a Cornerstone of the Indo-Pacific.” 

Lai recalled attending the center's inauguration last year and said he hoped it would become an important platform for both the NCCU’s Abe School of Politics and Economics and Taiwan-Japan cooperation. He described Abe as a visionary statesman whose concept of a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific” left a lasting impact on regional stability and prosperity. 

The president noted that last year Taiwan and Japan took another significant step forward in digital economic cooperation and supply chain integration through the signing of the Taiwan-Japan Digital Trade Agreement. Looking ahead, he expressed hope that bilateral cooperation across all sectors would continue reaching new milestones to the benefit of both sides.