Taipei and Tokyo ties are built on friendships
Vice President William Lai (賴清德) on Monday traveled to Tokyo to offer his condolences after the assassination of former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe. Although Lai’s visit was regarded as a part of his “personal itinerary,” it marks a significant diplomatic breakthrough for Taipei, and it conjures memories of past interactions between Taiwanese and Japanese leaders. An agricultural economics professor at Meiji Gakuin University — whom I have known for many years — was a classmate of late former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) at Cornell University. They kept in touch af...