Taiwan President Lai Ching-te conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon on Japanese lawmaker Keiji Furuya on Monday. The award recognizes Furuya's efforts to strengthen relations between Japan and Taiwan.
Lai described Furuya as an old friend during the ceremony at his office. He highlighted the lawmaker's work in promoting Japan's support for Taiwan's international participation and in updating Japanese family registry records to list Taiwan as the place of origin.
Furuya leads a cross-party group of Japanese lawmakers that supports Taiwan. He has visited the island more than 30 times. Beijing imposed sanctions on him in March over his activities.
Furuya stated that the sanctions have no effect on him. He currently leads a delegation from Gifu Prefecture to promote economic exchanges. He expressed hope that the visit would expand cooperation between the two sides.
