Most Senior Japanese Official in 45 Years Pays Visit to Taiwan

choi

Kyodo News, Mar 25, 2017
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/news ... aiwan/#.WNa_APkrKUk
("Senior Vice Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Jiro Akama visited Taiwan on Saturday, becoming the most senior government official to visit the island since the two sides severed diplomatic ties in 1972")

(2) 張茂森, 記者呂伊萱 and 彭琬馨, 日副大臣 公開訪台. Liberty Times, Mar 25, 2017
http://news.ltn.com.tw/news/focus/paper/1088758

Quote:

(a) "日本台灣交流協會今、明兩天在台北舉辦「多彩日本」活動，宣傳日本地方魅力。日本安倍內閣派出總務省副大臣赤間二郎主持今日的開幕典禮 * * *

(b) "日本與台灣斷交後，早期對雙方政府官員的互訪有嚴格規定，目前日本外務省的內規未嚴格規定什麼層級以上的官員不能到台灣訪問，但一般只同意課長級以下的官員訪台，課長級以上官員須特別請准。

"日本台灣交流協會昨在官網公告，日本現任總務副大臣赤間二郎，將在廿五日主持開幕式。台日斷交後，曾有副大臣級的官員以「私人身分」訪問過台灣，但赤間二郎是以「官方身分」訪台，並出席公開活動的最高層級政府官員。

(3) 田中靖人, 赤間二郎総務副大臣が訪台、公務では断交後初. 産経ニュース Sankei News, Mar 25, 2016.
www.sankei.com/world/news/170325/wor1703250025-n1.html
("蔡英文政権の高官との会談予定はなく * * * ２００６年には宮腰光寛農林水産副大臣（当時）が私的に訪台し、陳水扁総統（同）と会談するなどしている。ただ、日本政府は中国への配慮から訪台する職員の階級を自主規制しており

My comment:
(a) I translate the quotation of (3) this way:

There is no intention to meet with officials of the Tsai administration * * * In 2006 the then Senior Vice Minister 宮腰光寛, of Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, paid a private visit to Taiwan, and talked to then president Chen Shui-bian. However, out of concern about China, Japan imposed self-restraint on the levels of employees who visits Taiwan
(b) Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications  総務省
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mi ... _and_Communications

Take notice that the table to the right of the page is obsolete, showing officials that was in the previous line-up. The current line-up (since Aug 5, 2016) has a minister (大臣        高市早苗), two senior vice ministers (副大臣: 原田憲治 and 赤間二郎), three vice ministers 大臣政務官 and one administrative vice-minister 事務次官 (not a political appointee but rather the highest-ranked bureaucrats ("職業公務員（官僚）": ja.wikipedia.org).
(c) The Japanese surname Akama 赤間 is composed of aka ("red") and ma ("a gap").  Mr Akama himself chooses to use hiragana, not kanji, to write his surname. See あかま二郎 公式サイト Official Site
http://www.akama.jp/

That (in Hiragana) appears in the official announcement (in Japanese only, NOT in Chinese) of 日本台灣交流協會, which, by the way, is a civilian -- not governmental -- organization.

(d) 「地域の魅力海外発信支援事業（台北）」オープニング・セレモニーについて. 日本台湾交流協会, Mar 23, 2017.
https://www.koryu.or.jp/ez3_cont ... 27138F?OpenDocument
(i) オープニング・セレモニー  opening ceremony (in katakana)
(ii) ついて  regarding
(iii) Japanese-English dictionary:
* hasshin 発信 【はっしん】 (n,v): "dispatch" or transmission
* shagai hasshin 社外発信 【しゃがいはっしん】 (n): "external (to a company) communications"

(e) I was doubtful after reading (2), which emphasizes "官方身分," which, however, did not appear in (d). Then (3) does use "公務で" English translation: on official business), a (Japanese) term also used by 読売新聞.