Former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will visit Taiwan on Sunday to mourn the death of its former President Lee Teng-hui last week, a ruling party lawmaker said Friday.
Mori will make a day trip to the island aboard a chartered aircraft to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus, said Keiji Furuya, who heads a cross-party group of lawmakers seeking to strengthen Japan-Taiwan relations and will accompany the former prime minister.
Furuya told a news conference that while Mori will not go as a special envoy of the government or Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, he will "effectively act on behalf of the premier."
All of those making the visit, including members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its coalition partner Komeito, the Democratic Party for the People and the Japan Innovation Party, have undergone polymerase chain reaction tests, according to Furuya.
Lee died on July 30 at age 97. As Taiwan's first popularly elected leader, Lee ruled from 1988 to 2000 and played a key role in the self-ruled island's democratization.
He grew up under Japanese rule in Taiwan, which lasted from 1895 to 1945, and was known for his affinity for Japan.