1.Introduction:
Japan is located in Northeast Asia. Its national territory comprises the four main islands of Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku and Kyushu, as well as over 3,000 smaller neighboring islands. These include the southern islands of Ryukyu archipelago (including Okinawa). The main administrative divisions within Japan include one Metropolis (Tokyo), one Circuit (Hokkaido), two Urban Prefectures (Kyoto and Osaka), and 43 Prefectures. Japan has a total land area of around 377,800 square kilometers, and a total population of approximately 126 million people (Source: Statistics Japan, February 2020 data). Although Taiwan and Japan do not have formal diplomatic relations, Taiwan has established a Taiwan-Japan Relations Association in Japan, and Japan has established an Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taiwan. These two associations handle matters relating to the economy, trade, culture, science, technology, and sports exchange etc., between the two countries' citizens. Furthermore, there are frequent visits from one country to the other by political figures (including legislators). In 2019 there were around 7.07 million visitors between Taiwan and Japan: 4.91 million Taiwanese visitors to Japan and 2.16 million Japanese visitors to Taiwan.
2.Areas served:
Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Aichi, Hiroshima, Okayama, Mie, Gifu, Hyogo, Kochi, Ehime, Shimane, Toyama, Ishikawa, Fukui, Shiga, Nara, Wakayama, Tottori, Tokushima and Kagawa.
3.Taiwanese compatriots in the area served:
According to the June 2019 data of Immigration Authority of Japan, 16,797 people have a Taiwanese passport and most of these passport holders live in Osaka, Hyogo, Aichi and Kyoto.
4.Overseas Compatriot organizations:
There are several Overseas Compatriot organizations in Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Shikoku, Ishikawa and Toyama Prefectures. Besides this, there are other compatriot and business organizations such as Taiwanese Association of Osaka, Japan Kansai Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce, Global Federation of Chinese Business Women Japan Kansai Chapter, Kansai Taiwanese Emergency Assistance Association and Osaka Chinese School.