The aviation associations of China's Taiwan and Japan approved a new air pact Friday, authorizing a robust increase in cargo and passenger transport capacities between Taiwan and Japan, according to a report from Taipei.

The pact -- endorsed by the Association of East Asian Relations (AEAR) and the Japan Interchange Association (JIA) -- guarantees that the numbers of regular passenger flights, charter passenger flights and cargo flights offered by airline carriers from Taiwan and Japan will all be increased substantially.

Under the agreement, which took immediate effect, restrictions on the number of carriers on each route are canceled and the regulation on carriers' also acting as agents is also deregulated, officials from local civil aeronautics authorities said.

Under the new agreement, the seat capacity of regular passenger flights offered by Taiwan carriers increased a robust 43 percent over the year-earlier level.

The new pact allows regular passenger flight carriers to operate charter flights and the number of charter flight operators will also be increased.

Under the new accord, the capacity of all-cargo flights from Taiwan will be increased from the current level of 12 co-efficiency points per week to 18 co-efficiency points, marking an increase of 50 percent.

Japan is Taiwan's largest source of tourists from overseas, with its tourists making about 1.1 million visits to Taiwan in 2005, while Taiwan tourists made 1.3 million visits to Japan in the same year.   

(Xinhua News Agency March 25, 2006)