Former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui has denied claims he will apply for an entry visa to Japan on Monday in order to attend a symposium in the country, local media reported Thursday.
"I don't know about this at all," Lee told the China Times in Prague, referring to an announcement by Mineo Nakajima, a promoter of Lee's visit to Japan, that the former president will file a visa application with Japan's unofficial mission in Taipei on Monday.
Nakajima, president of the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, said at a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday that Lee revealed his plans during a telephone conversation before he left for a one-week visit to the Czech Republic last Saturday.
But the Taiwan newspaper quoted Lee as saying, "Whether or not I will be able to participate in the Asia Open Forum depends on the Japanese government's decision."