Secretariat, Taipei City Government

On April 13, Chikuchi Keiichi, Chair of Miyagi Prefectural Assembly, Ishikawa Mitsujirou, former Chair of Miyagi Prefectural Assembly, and Lin Kuan-Ming, Chair of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Japan, visited Lee Shu-Chuan, Deputy Mayor of Taipei City, to discuss exchange events and collaborations between Taipei City and Miyagi Prefecture.

Deputy Mayor Lee received the Miyagi delegation on behalf of Mayor Chiang. He expressed gratitude for the assembly’s long-term support to Taiwan and the chamber’s contributions to the exchanges between Taiwan and Japan. He also stated that Taipei City has maintained close ties with various cities in Japan and hopes to build on these partnerships by deepening its collaboration with Miyagi Prefecture.

Chair Chikuchi responded by thanking Deputy Mayor Lee for taking the time to meet with them. Given the geographical proximity between Taiwan and Japan, Chair Chikuchi expressed his hopes for the continuous relationship between the two countries, tighter governmental exchanges, and more travels between Taipei City and Miyagi Prefecture. With many of Taiwan’s airlines resuming their direct flights to Sendai following the relaxation of the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, Miyagi Prefecture is expecting more travelers from Taiwan.

During the meeting, Chair Lin expressed his appreciation to Deputy Mayor Lee for meeting with them. He also thanked the Taipei City Government for participating in Taiwan Festa in Yoyogi Park last year, and he hoped that the city would continue to support and participate in the event so that Japanese people can learn more about Taiwan. Since the chamber assumed hosting duties in 2016, the event has attracted more than 200,000 Japanese participants every year. The chamber has also been planning to begin a miniseries at this event to introduce Taiwan’s cities and counties.

Deputy Mayor Lee expressed his appreciation for Miyagi Prefecture’s exhibition of Japanese-style lanterns at the 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival for citizens who were unable to visit Japan because of the pandemic. With the relaxation of COVID-19 border restrictions, travel between Taiwan and Japan has gradually returned to normal levels, and Taipei City is excited to welcome Japanese travelers to Taiwan.