TAIPEI: Talks about an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the lifting of an import ban that had been imposed on Japanese agricultural products from five prefectures following the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant meltdown were mentioned as the 41st Taiwan-Japan trade and economic talks began yesterday, with two memorandums of understanding set to be signed today.
The two-day bilateral talks, which have been held annually since 1976, began at the Ambassador Hotel Taipei yesterday, with the leaders of both delegations delivering their opening remarks before holding a meeting behind closed doors.
“Over the past 40 years, Taipei and Tokyo have inked a total of 45 agreements … that laid a profound foundation for our bilateral ties. We look forward to beginning negotiations regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership [TPP] and an EPA in the foreseeable future,” Association of East Asian Relations President Chiou I-jen said in his opening speech.
Chiu said that while many difficulties remain between Taiwan and Japan, he believed the solid friendship that has been forged between both nations at past conferences would help them to be resolved.
In his opening remarks, Japan’s Interchange Association Chairman Mitsuo Ohashi said that with Taiwan’s and Japan’s concerted efforts, both sides have seen concrete results and improved bilateral ties.
“With regard to the issue of Japanese foods, some of them still face import restrictions, while we can feel the efforts the Taiwanese government has made in this regard, we have heard some unsubstantiated comments that have hurt the Japanese people, including those in Fukushima,” Ohashi said, calling for the immediate lifting of the restrictions.
Separately yesterday at a news conference at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Taipei, Association of East Asian Relations Secretary-General Peter Tsai reiterated the government’s stance that the issue of restricted Japanese agricultural products would not be covered by the talks.
Tsai said it is natural for both sides to bring up the issues of greatest concern in their respective opening remarks, citing as an example Chiu’s bringing up of the possibility that the two nations could begin talks about an EPA.
“Japan is of the opinion that our handling of agricultural products [from the radiation-affected prefectures] lacks the support of scientific evidence and is against WTO regulations … but we have our own concerns, mainly the health of the public,” Tsai said.
While the government believes it should consider following the steps of the US and the EU in dealing with the matter, the restrictions are not something that the annual trade and economic talks could handle, he said.
