消息人士稱，日本官員對原本低調的訪問被大肆宣傳感到不滿。

Media exposure of Taiwan premier's baseball trip stirs Tokyo-Taipei tiff

Japan officials irked by publicity around supposedly low-key visit: sources

A section filled with Taiwan fans during a World Baseball Classic game in Tokyo on March 7: Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai attended the game. © Reuters

THOMPSON CHAU

April 17, 2026 12:33 JST

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TAIPEI -- Taiwan is facing a quiet backlash from Japanese officials over how it handled a recent visit to Tokyo by Premier Cho Jung-tai, sources said, illustrating the unique quandaries Taipei faces in conducting diplomacy.

Cho made an ostensibly low-key, personal trip to Tokyo for the World Baseball Classic game between Taiwan and the Czech Republic on March 7. The visit marked the first time a sitting head of Taiwan's government had visited Japan since diplomatic ties were cut in 1972. It followed a similar breakthrough by Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung last summer, who flew in to attend Expo 2025 in Osaka.

But while the trip was widely seen as a sign of tightening ties between Taipei and Tokyo, multiple sources briefed on the matter said that Japanese officials were displeased by the publicity Cho's move generated. The visit was supposed to be under the radar, yet quickly made news in Taiwan, leading some Japanese officials to allege that Taiwan President Lai Ching-te's administration had violated an understanding between the two sides.

The episode risks complicating crucial ties that Taiwan has worked hard to cultivate at a time when China is dialing up pressure against both Tokyo and Taipei.

The spat appears to stem from a fundamental dilemma Taiwan faces when engaging with the rest of the world. Japan, European countries and others typically tread cautiously when working with Taipei, out of concern about angering Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its territory and strives to isolate its government diplomatically.

Taiwanese officials, on the other hand, see publicizing international engagement as crucial to resisting Chinese coercion. Taiwan, despite being a leading tech power and democracy, is barred from most international organizations, such as the United Nations, and cannot display its official identity in the few international arenas where it is allowed to take part. In sports, it competes as Chinese Taipei.

People familiar with the matter say that after Cho's government submitted a list of more than 15 people who would make the trip, Tokyo requested the removal of Taiwan's cabinet spokesperson and photographers. The request was ignored, the sources said.

During the game at the Tokyo Dome, the premier was quickly spotted by Taiwan's official Central News Agency, which broke the news immediately. China later condemned the "evil designs" of the trip.

One person said Tokyo "felt betrayed," stirring doubts over cooperation with Taipei on sensitive matters and potentially making such visits more difficult to arrange in the future.

"The leaks give Beijing convenient excuses to say that Japan and Taiwan are troublemakers" ahead of Chinese President Xi Jinping's meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump scheduled for mid-May, the source said.

Taiwan's Premier Cho Jung-tai speaks with Nikkei Asia in a 2024 interview in Taipei. (Photo: Taiwan's Executive Yuan)

What Trump might say about Taiwan at the summit has been a focus of speculation, after he said that he discussed weapons sales to Taipei with Xi in a phone call. Xi warned that arms sales to Taiwan must be handled carefully.

"The behavior of leaking the premier's visit is undermining Taiwan's relations with Japan, as well as its efforts to stabilize relations with D.C." the source said. Taipei and Washington sealed a trade deal earlier this year in another diplomatic breakthrough for the Lai administration.

Cho previously responded to media that his visit was private and self-paid. The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, Tokyo's de facto embassy in Taipei, and Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs declined to comment when contacted by Nikkei Asia.

"Regarding Premier Cho's visit to Tokyo in March to watch the Taiwan national team's baseball match, it has been stated that it was a private visit and activity for the premier, and as the Japanese side has stated, there were no official meetings," a source in Taiwan's government said, declining to comment further.

Exacerbating the friction, sources pointed to official documents circulating on Taiwan social media suggesting that Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi gave "special permission" for Cho's itinerary, with three strict conditions attached to maintain the ostensibly private nature of the visit.

Despite Tokyo's displeasure, Cho's visit is a sign of Lai administration's progress in strengthening the island's international ties. Together with business-driven diplomacy spearheaded by Foreign Minister Lin, the administration has managed to win considerable support from major powers.

The ruling Democratic Progressive Party's approach contrasts with that of the opposition Kuomintang, which has focused on tightening ties with China. KMT leader Cheng Li-wun made a highly publicized trip to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing last week.

While Cho paid for a charter flight to Tokyo out of his own pocket, the costs of Cheng's trip were covered by the publicly funded Taiwan Foundation for Democracy, local media reported.

Sources said that while there is real unhappiness in Tokyo over the baseball incident, mutual goodwill between the two sides endures at the very top levels.

After the U.S., Japan is the most important security and political partner for Taiwan, even though Tokyo and Taipei do not have official diplomatic relations. Senior Japanese politicians regularly visit and meet with Taiwanese officials, and Japan's Liberal Democratic Party-led governments have stepped up support for Taiwan.

In November, Takaichi told parliament that a conflict over Taiwan could be a "survival-threatening situation" for Japan, sparking a diplomatic row with Beijing that has yet to blow over.

Taiwan lies roughly 110 kilometers from Japan's westernmost island, Yonaguni, and shipping lanes in the area are critical for Japanese energy imports.

At a Taiwan Foreign Correspondents' Club briefing late last year, Kazuyuki Katayama, Japan's de facto ambassador in Taipei, emphasized the bond between the neighbors. "Japan and Taiwan share fundamental values such as democracy, freedom, human rights and rule of law," emphasizing the importance of having such a free and friendly society "just next to us."