The government has told former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui he would have a tough time getting a visa if he files another application to visit Japan, Tetsuro Yano, senior vice foreign minister, said Thursday.
On Tuesday, Lee withdrew a visa application he had filed Monday to make a speech at Keio University's annual student festival.
It was later learned that the university rejected the students' plan.
The latest message from the government was conveyed to Lee's aide Wednesday after the former president indicated he would file another application to make a speech for the same student group outside the university.
"We must say that the first application was very unnatural because it was filed after Keio University had already decided not to hold the event," Yano said. "I cannot help but feel that there were some other intentions (apart from the speech) behind his application."
Japan's unofficial representative office in Taipei told Lee's agent that it would be "extremely difficult to authorize Lee's plan for a private visit as a private citizen" in the event he makes another application, Yano said.
Lee was last in Japan in April 2001 to undergo treatment for a heart condition in Okayama Prefecture. It was his first visit to Japan in 16 years and set off protests by China, which opposes overseas trips by leaders of what it views as a renegade province.