Taiwan's deputy representative to Japan said Monday he hopes Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's government will play a greater role in ensuring stability in the region, hailing a joint statement issued after a U.S.-Japan summit that mentioned the self-ruled island for the first time in 52 years.

"Japan's role in preventing China from invading Taiwan has become more important," Tsai Ming-yao, the deputy head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan, said in an interview. The office serves as the de facto embassy in the absence of official diplomatic ties.

"This is a historically important document. I would like to express my gratitude," he said, referring to a post-summit joint statement that touched on the importance of the peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait, where China has grown increasingly assertive.