DPP legislator and Taipei mayoral candidate Puma Shen has concluded a three-day visit to Japan, sending a positive signal for local-level and party-to-party cooperation between Taiwan and Japan.

• In Tokyo, Shen attended a dialogue between the ruling parties of Taiwan and Japan, wrapping up discussions that covered the return of talent, urban renewal, urban resilience, and the cultural content industry.
• Exchanges with Japanese Diet members extended to government, think tanks, industry, and academia, with the aim of building a cross-disciplinary cooperation network.
• On security issues, the two sides discussed undersea cables, urban resilience, and civil defence, and also touched on medical exchanges and cultural soft power.
• On his interaction with Kuomintang Taipei City councillor Chin Hui-chu, Shen stressed that child protection should not be a matter of blue versus green, and said he was willing to work across party lines.

Outlook: The focus going forward will be on turning the discussions from this Japan trip into concrete cooperation between Taipei and Japanese cities.