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Max Hirsch
For Max Hirsch's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2009
When Taiwan-Japan relations run afoul, there's always Hatta Yoichi
TAIPEI — The Japanese animated movie "Hatta Yoichi" was given wide theatrical release Friday in Taiwan, but few moviegoers here are likely to grasp its political significance.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2008
Taiwan politicians hope Aso takes reins
Taiwanese power brokers seemed upbeat Tuesday on the possibility that Taro Aso, secretary general of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, would become Japan's next prime minister. But the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry predicted stable relations with Tokyo no matter who replaces Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2008
Ties sour but will sweeten: Taiwan speaker
Taiwan's relations with Japan have regressed since the Nationalist Party came to power, but they are likely to rebound, parliamentary speaker Wang Jin-pyng said in an interview. "Relations were at their highest because of the government of the Democratic Progressive Party . . . and suddenly the (Nationalist Party) came to power and so many problems have emerged — it's like relations relapsed significantly in an instant," Wang told foreign media after returning from Japan on a fence-mending visit earlier this month.
JAPAN
Aug 19, 2008
Taipei's next Tokyo envoy eludes in wake of Ma's handling of row
More than a month after Taiwan's envoy to Japan resigned his post, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou faces a dearth of candidates he can trust to appoint as de facto ambassador to Tokyo, revealing yet another stumbling block in bilateral relations, experts said.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2008
Japan-bred canines have leg up in Taiwan guide dog industry
TAIPEI — He understands only English but hails from Japan, where his kind is reared and trained for deployment overseas.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2008
China's Taipei envoy pick said potential Tokyo foil
Max Hirsch, Taipei — China's new top official for managing relations with Taiwan, experts say, is uniquely positioned to hamper the island's burgeoning ties with Japan, which was possibly a consideration when China made the appointment.
JAPAN
May 27, 2008
China-wary Ma omits Japan in inaugural speech
Amid roaring applause in a packed stadium, Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou heralded what he called "a new era" in relations with China in his inaugural speech, delivered at the Taipei Arena just hours after he took office May 20.
JAPAN
May 12, 2008
Taiwan unfazed by warming Japan-China relations
Two days before Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a historic joint statement with Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda in Tokyo, another historic, albeit quiet, agreement emerged between Japan and Taiwan. On May 5, Tokyo and Taipei formalized a cooperation pact on aviation safety, paving the way for the informal allies to bolster joint investigations into aviation accidents and share relevant information.
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2008
Taiwan's Ma still open to visiting Japan, U.S.
Taiwan's president-elect, Ma Ying-jeou, said Sunday he has not ruled out visiting Japan and the United States before his inauguration in May. "I am indeed considering using this opportunity to visit overseas," Ma said, a day after he won the presidential election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jan 16, 2008
Taiwan's Japan-made bullet trains end first year in red — but on track
Taiwan's Japan-built high-speed trains have yet to become a cash-cow success, but neither are they the disaster critics had once predicted.
JAPAN
Dec 22, 2007
Taiwan's presidential candidates jostle to win Japan's crucial backing
, which supports unification with China, has typically fared poorly at establishing a rapport with Tokyo — something that comes more naturally to the independence-inclined DPP. In November, however, Nationalist presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou smashed that paradigm with what many pundits hailed as a successful trip to Japan.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2007
Taiwan's Ma winning converts in Nagata-cho
front-runner and "multiple Japanese government officials" Thursday. The meeting ranks as a first, a source in Ma's entourage said. That Tokyo would risk a row with China by allowing Cabinet officials to meet a Taiwanese presidential candidate speaks volumes about Japan's attitude toward Ma.
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2007
Fukuda won't forsake Taiwan for China: experts
Taipei's relations with Tokyo will remain strong despite jitters in Taiwan over whether new Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda will distance his country from the embattled island, experts say. Like Shinzo Abe, his predecessor, Fukuda is expected to seek improved relations with Beijing as prime minister, but at what cost — if any — to Taiwan, is a question that now looms large in Taipei.

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