Taiwan and Japan have enjoyed robust trade relations and a strong friendship for decades. It is a solid relationship that — as Por-fong Lin, chairman of the Third Wednesday Club, the most notable business organization in Taiwan, points out — is “built on partnership, cooperation and mutual respect, rather than on competition.”
“Japan is Taiwan’s third-largest trading partner and one of the main sources of foreign investment and technology,” Lin’s office said.
The long-standing relationship between the two countries has been a mutually beneficial and highly productive one over the course of many years. As Lin noted: “Japan has always been one of Taiwan’s important sources of technology. Aside from the technology exchange between Taiwan and Japan, the two sides have a high potential for scientific and technological cooperation.
Taiwan, on the other hand, is an important overseas base for countries like Japan for its high-quality manufacturing standards, among other things. There is a vast array of industries in Taiwan with the ability to build global value chains, and this is the best choice for Japan, when it comes to choosing an overseas industrial partner.”
Historically, this exchange of technology has largely been focused in the electronics industry, a major sector of the Taiwanese economy.
Akira Otsuka, general manager of Hirose Electric (Taiwan), underscored that “Taiwan has over 50 years of experience in serving global customers in the consumer electronics industry,” a major reason the Japanese company has invested heavily in Taiwan.
Magi Chen, CEO of the Taiwanese financial conglomerate E.Sun Bank, likewise shared that “Taiwanese and Japanese corporations complement each other, in their business principles and competitive advantages.”
For their shared core beliefs, not only in business and trade, but also in matters involving corporate social responsibility, Lin believes that “in the future, Taiwan and Japan can build an even stronger partnership in three areas: digital transformation, net-zero transformation and resilient supply chain building.”
