Taiwan has a fundamentally different place in Japanese culture, psyche and Zeitgeist than any other country does due to common history.<p>Taiwan was a colony of Japan as a result of "spoils of war" when China was beaten in the 1st Sino-Japanese war in the late 19th century. Japan lost Taiwan after their WW2 surrender. But strong ties already existed and continue to exist.<p>Pretty much all modern infrastructure in Taiwan was created by the Japanese during this colonial period and since. For example the Taiwanese HSR is pretty much identical to the Japanese Shinkansen (T700 is a variant of the 700+). Similarly you'll see Japanese-style electrical transformers and towers on raised concrete support pylons all over Taiwan.<p>Further it was the norm for Taiwanese to study and work in Japan during the colonial period, so there remains a very strong connection on both sides. For example, my Taiwanese EVP speaks fluent Japanese in addition to English and naturally Mandarin because his parents spent much of their lives as "Taiwanese expats" in Japan.<p>In some ways it's similar to the USA and Philippines. That special relationship is exemplified by how Filipinos have a RIGHT to serve in the US armed forces and will automatically qualify for US citizenship by serving honorably. No other country has that legally binding situation. Similarly both the Filipino government structure (Constitution and 3 houses of government) is identical to the US and all modern infrastructure was created by the USA on the US dime. So there is a similar "special relationship".<p>So no one should be surprised by this.