Japan would welcome Taiwan’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), Japanese Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) Youth Division director Norikazu Suzuki said at a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) at the Presidential Office in Taipei yesterday.

The Youth Division has cooperated and promoted exchanges with Taiwan for more than 50 years, and will continue to uphold this tradition and bolster bilateral ties, said Suzuki, who arrived on Sunday as the leader of a 65-member LDP delegation.

As former Japanese prime minister Taro Aso, who was also a Youth Division director, said during his trip to Taiwan earlier this month, Japan and Taiwan will face various challenges side by side, Suzuki said.