In Response to Lai Ching-te Eating Japanese Cuisine, Japanese Parliamentarian Feasts on Braised Pork Rice

Mainland China earlier once again banned the import of Japanese aquatic products. On the 20th, Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te deliberately chose sushi and miso soup for lunch to express support for Japan. Japanese Senator Mizuho Umemura subsequently indulged in braised pork rice (lu rou fan) and mango yogurt on social media, posting with Japanese and Taiwanese flag emojis, and annotated the deep Taiwan-Japan friendship with the saying 'Virtue is not solitary; it is bound to have neighbors.'

According to Liberty Times, on the afternoon of the 20th, Lai Ching-te posted on social platform X, saying, 'Today’s lunch is sushi and miso soup,' and marked that there were 'buri from Kagoshima and scallops from Hokkaido.'

That evening, Mizuho Umemura shared Lai Ching-te’s post on X, saying that for lunch the next day she planned to eat Taiwanese delicacies: braised pork rice with mango, and emphasized, 'Virtue is not solitary; it is bound to have neighbors,' and 'Thank you very much,' ending with the Japanese and Taiwanese flag emoji.

At 8:28 pm, Mizuho Umemura posted again on X, saying she is 'true to her word', and directly posted a photo with braised pork rice and mango yogurt. She said: 'Couldn’t wait for lunch tomorrow, so for dinner I had braised pork rice and mango yogurt.'

On June 30 this year, Mizuho Umemura announced she was leaving the Japan Innovation Party and joining the emerging party Sanseitō. She was shortly re-elected during the 27th House of Councillors election held on July 20. Umemura is regarded as a steadfast pro-Taiwan lawmaker and has visited Taiwan multiple times as a member of the Japanese Diet.