The presidential candidate of Taiwan's largest opposition Kuomintang party, Hou Yu-ih, will start his visit to Japan from Monday to demonstrate his emphasis on relations with the country.

Hou is the incumbent mayor of New Taipei City, which is the municipality with the largest number of eligible voters in Taiwan. The party convention held on July 23 officially picked him as its candidate for the presidential election set for January.

Hou is scheduled to meet Diet lawmakers and officials of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association during his three-day stay in the country. Relations between China and Taiwan will be one of the major issues in the presidential election.

Hou is expected to seek understanding from the Japanese side about his stance on the matter.

Hou has already expressed his opposition to Taiwan's independence and the "one-country, two-systems" framework. He also said he would enhance cross-strait exchanges to reduce the risk of clashes if he is elected.

Hou also plans to visit a facility in Tokyo that is linked to Sun Yat-sen, the founder of the Kuomintang party. It will be part of his attempts to underscore how close the party and Japan are.

Hou's trip will follow the visit to Japan in June by Ko Wen-je, the presidential candidate of another opposition force, the Taiwan People's Party.

The two men are engaged in a de-facto race to project themselves as candidates who can retain good ties with Japan. It is believed to be part of their efforts to win over the support of many Taiwanese voters who feel an affinity with the country.