Taiwan is using its Tokyo National Day party to show off strong economic numbers and warmer ties with Japan — good news for both sides, and a quiet rebuke to Beijing.

• Taiwan's representative in Japan, Lee Yi-yang, said the island's exports should rank fifth in the world this year, up from sixteenth a decade ago, despite pressure from China.
• Taiwan's stock market is now the fourth largest in the world by total value, helped by the AI boom.
• Nvidia's rise is the anchor: Jensen Huang has said there would be no Nvidia without Taiwan, and the island is now the key hub for AI hardware.
• 188 Japanese lawmakers from across all major parties showed up, plus diplomats from Taiwan's allies and more than a thousand guests.
• Japan's friendship group formally put "Taiwan" in its name this year, and a delegation of about 30 lawmakers will travel to Taipei for the holiday.

Outlook: Expect deeper Taiwan-Japan work on chips, AI, and disaster planning, with Prime Minister Takaichi's new growth plan as the main opening — and more friction with China as a result.