TAIPEI -- Tai Ya-Chang has just one word on his name card: "Taiwanese."

A staunch believer in a Taiwan for Taiwanese, the resident of Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, runs Taiwanese language classes and organized a tour of some 300 Taiwanese residents of Japan to attend and celebrate Saturday's presidential inauguration of Chen Shui-bian of the proindependence Democratic Progressive Party.

"This is the first time I felt any need to come (to Taiwan)," he said, indicating the wide interest the changing of the guard has attracted among Taiwanese living in Japan.

But while murmuring "Why is Chen speaking in Mandarin?" Tai nodded in approval as the lawyer-turned-president affirmed in his inaugural speech that he would not declare independence so long as China does not use military force.

Chen also indicated he would not change the national title or push for a "state to state" clause in the island's constitution.

"What he said is reasonable," Tai observed.

His views were shared by Lin Chin-Hsiang, assistant general manager of the International Commercial Bank of China's Tokyo branch, and another member of the tour.

"We gain nothing by antagonizing the mainland now," Lin said. Such antagonism would only harm business ties both with mainland China and Japan, he added.

For some Taiwanese doing business in Japan, the March presidential election, which brought about Taiwan's first democratic transfer of power, is not about independence at all.

"Chen's election is good news for small and medium-size companies" on the island, said Shi Yin Huang, president of Taiwan Ya-Te Fire Protect Co., which provides fire prevention equipment to companies in Japan.

"The people (in Taiwan) hope that he will stop the flow of dirty money," said Shi, referring to the decades of corruption during the era of rule under the Nationalist Party.

This corruption put smaller companies at a disadvantage, charged Shi, who also brought his 5-year-old grandson along to watch the ceremony.

While reducing to "merely lip service" a large banner behind the podium at Saturday's inaugural ceremony that read "One Unified China," Xiu Sulien at the same time acknowledged that such lip service was necessary.

Xiu, who goes back and forth between Japan and Taiwan for her work as a dealer in small household items, put it simply: "War stops the money."