In March 2016, local media began reporting that Hsieh had accepted a position as Taiwan's representative to Japan in Tsai Ing-wen's administration. He announced the appointment in late April, and made his first official visit to Japan on June 9. Ko Shu-ling of the Kyodo News wrote favorably of Hsieh's appointment, stating that the focus on Cross-Strait and Taiwan–United States relations under previous administrations seemed to be rolled back in favor of a "southward" policy, a goal of the Tsai presidency. Hsieh has discussed the possible lifting of Taiwanese restrictions on imports from Fukushima Prefecture, which had been put in place as a result of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, the cause of meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.