The main opposition presidential candidate, Ma Ying-jeou, is in Japan, visiting in his capacity as the Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate.

Ma says the visit is different from last year's trip, when he visited Japan in his roles of Taipei City mayor and KMT chairman.

Ma says one of the goals of the trip is to clarify what he called "misunderstandings" in the Japanese media. He told a press conference on Tuesday that he is neither anti-Japan nor pro-Japan. He said, though, that he would use the trip to strengthen ties and to boost cooperative efforts between the two sides.

Ma is scheduled to speak at a university in Kyoto, and meet with the mayor of Yokohama and Japanese lawmakers in Tokyo.