TAIPEI:Taiwan and Japan were urged to hold high-level dialogue and strike a free trade agreement despite the lack of diplomatic ties, reports here said today. The Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI) in Taipei called for an FTA to further boost the flow of goods and materials between the two sides, the state-funded Central News Agency reported. Taiwan’s parliament speaker Wang Jin-pyng also called for an FTA during a recent meeting with Taiwan-based Japanese. Japan, like most countries, officially recognises Beijing instead of Taipei, but Taiwan maintains friendly relations with Japan despite being colonised between 1895 and 1945. Taiwan has assured Japan it has nothing to fear over the island’s warming ties with China, from which it split in 1949 after a civil war. The JCCI also voiced its support for a planned trade pact between Taiwan and China, saying it could benefit Japanese businesses on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, the report said.