President Ma Ying-jeou on Monday invited a group of visiting Japanese parliamentarians to the upcoming Taipei International Flora Exposition and lauded the growing transportation and tourism links between Taiwan and Japan. 'Nearly 400,000 people visited the Flora Expo during a trial run, showing that its creativity has been recognized by people in Taiwan. I would like to welcome everybody to visit the expo, ' Ma said during a meeting with 16 Japanese parliamentarians at the Presidential Office. Ma said the Flora Expo's opening ceremony on Saturday will reflect the event's international nature. 'A total of 286 dignitaries and 65 delegations from 44 countries, including Japan, will attend the opening of the Flora Expo, ' Ma told the parliamentarians, who arrived in Taipei on Sunday on the first flight connecting Tokyo International Airport, more commonly known as Haneda Airport, and Taipei International Airport in 31 years. Taipei International Airport, formerly known as Songshan Airport, served as the country's main gateway until 1979, when international flights were relocated to Chiang Kai-shek Airport, now called Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport. Ma commended the parliamentarians for taking the historic flight and said the resumption of the flights was significant in a number of ways, including their benefit to the economy and tourism and their influence on social perceptions. 'It seems that Taipei and Tokyo have been brought closer, ' the president said. 'I think this will contribute significantly to advancing bilateral relations.' According to the president, the resumption of flights between the two city airports will help increase the number of Taiwanese and Japanese visiting each other's country to 3 million next year, from the current level of 2.4 million. The new route is expected to be popular because people who travel between the two cities via the city airports can save up to an hour in ground transportation each way compared to traveling through Narita International Airport outside Tokyo and Taoyuan airport outside Taipei. The two airports' extensive domestic routes could also prove attractive to tourists. Songshan Airport has connections to nine other domestic destinations while Haneda Airport serves 48 airports in Japan. 