TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Tuesday (July 12) confirmed an announcement made by Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Taiwan’s representative to Japan, that a group of seven members of Japan’s National Diet will visit Taiwan at the end of July.

Hsieh announced the visit on Facebook, saying that after former Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo’s passing, it is particularly meaningful for Japanese Diet members to organize a delegation to visit Taiwan. This also means that the Diet’s support for Taiwan will not dissipate due to Abe's death, he said.

Instead, more Japanese lawmakers who aim to protect shared values of freedom and democracy, are taking Taiwan-Japan relations seriously and joining the pro-Taiwan camp, Hsieh said. He mentioned that he had met with a Japanese cross-party parliamentary group concerned about Japan’s security over dinner on Monday.

MOFA said that the roster of the delegation and the purpose and itinerary of the visit to Taiwan are still being arranged and will be made public at an appropriate time. Taiwan and Japan have maintained close mutual visits and exchanges for many years, the ministry said.

The foreign ministry welcomes groups from all walks of Japanese society to visit Taiwan in order to deepen substantive bilateral relations in a variety of fields, MOFA added.