The leader of the Japan Innovation Party, the country's second-largest opposition force, met Wednesday with Taiwan leader Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei and called for cooperation between Tokyo and Taipei to strengthen deterrence amid China's efforts to change the status quo.
Nobuyuki Baba, who headed a party delegation, also said at a press conference he expressed support for Taiwan's bid to join the 12-member Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact.
Baba said during the delegation's meeting with Tsai that he expects exchanges between Taiwan and Japan in areas such as security, economy and tourism will become closer and deepen in the future, according to a statement issued by Tsai's office.
Calling the opposition party, a rising force in Japanese politics, "an important friend of Taiwan," Tsai said she hopes the Japan Innovation Party will continue to exert influence in the Japanese parliament.
As the party accelerates efforts to become Japan's biggest opposition force following its success in a series of local elections in April, Baba stressed the significance of the delegation's Taiwan visit, saying the group will work more on "foreign affairs and security issues in addition to domestic matters" in Japan.
Earlier in the day, Baba also met with former Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je of the opposition Taiwan People's Party, a candidate in the island's presidential election next January.
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