Taipei, Dec. 14 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Monday that he hopes to increase links with Japan’s ruling Democratic Party, which he said would facilitate efforts to promote Taiwan-Japan ties.

Ma made the remarks during a meeting at his office with former Yokohama Mayor Hiroshi Nakada, who is visiting Taiwan with three parliamentarians from the Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ).

Ma also expressed hope that more DPJ parliamentarians will join groups in the Japanese Diet, or parliament, that are concerned about Taiwan issues as the party has adopted some new diplomatic approaches since taking over the reins of power earlier this year.

At the meeting, Ma described Nakada as “Taiwan’s best friend, ” someone who spared no efforts to promote bilateral ties during his services as a House representative and as mayor of Yokohama.

He noted that it was Nakada who inspired him to push for the opening of a flight route between Japan’s Haneda Airport and Taipei’s Songshan Airport — part of his presidential election campaign platform in 2008 — which will begin services next October.

The president thanked Nakada for agreeing to “the proposal that has allowed us to smoothly promote the further development of Taiwan-Japan relations.”

Ma noted that the new flight route will help cut travel time between Tokyo and Taipei by nearly three hours.

Describing bilateral ties as having become closer and more friendly since his administration was inaugurated 19 months ago, Ma cited examples to back his opinion, including Taiwan’s opening Dec. 1 of a representative office in Sapporo, capital of northern Japan’s Hokkaido Prefecture, and the forging in June of a working holiday agreement that allows people aged 18-30 from both sides to travel visa-free to each other’s countries for a working holiday. (By Kelven Huang and Elizabeth Hsu)

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