Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Mayor Wan-An Chiang met with Mayor Shinju Yamaguchi of Kasama City at city hall on May 11. The two parties exchanged opinions on a range of topics, from general agreements to civil servant exchange programs, and discussed ways of enhancing cooperation between the younger generations of each city.

Mayor Chiang welcomed Yamaguchi and his delegation and expressed gratitude for Kasama City’s participation in 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival. He highlighted the steadfastness of the mutual friendship between both parties, as evidenced by Mayor Yamaguchi and his delegation’s visit in less than three months since 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival. He stated that Taipei and Kasama City have conducted exchanges in horticulture, tourism, and civil servant exchange programs. The city in Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan is known for actively promoting regional revitalization policies. Although Taipei and Kasama are cities of different scales, they face similar challenges such as sub-replacement fertility and population aging, and can learn from each other in these areas.

Mayor Yamaguchi thanked Mayor Chiang for taking time to meet with him and for inviting Kasama City to take part in 2023 Taiwan Lantern Festival. He stated that Taipei and Kasama cities have effectively accomplished a number of achievements together and proposed that the two municipalities further enhance their collaborations in various domains, such as education. In addition, he extended an invitation to Mayor Chiang to attend the celebration banquet scheduled for November 24 to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Kasama City’s representative office in Taiwan. Thanking Yamaguchi for his invitation, Mayor Chiang stated that the International Affairs Division of the Secretariat of Taipei City Government shall follow up on the comprehensive agreement proposed by Yamaguchi with Kasama City’s representative office in Taiwan.

The two cities have seen growing interactions in recent years. In 2020, Taipei and Kasama City inked an agreement on personnel exchanges, with a Taipei City Government city official being dispatched to the tourism division of the Japanese city for a short-term program. Due to the pandemic, the exchange program had been postponed. Executive Officer Cheng visited the city in October 2022 to learn about regional tourism and industry practices and completed the trip in March this year. Ms. Cheng shared her experience at the meeting, stating that her Japanese speaking skills had improved significantly during her trip. When questioned about her most memorable experience during the trip, she expressed admiration for the dedication and teamwork displayed by the Kasama City Government staff, who collaborated as a cohesive unit to accomplish a particularly task. Mayor Yamaguchi commended Ms. Cheng as an outstanding who has made significant progress in her Japanese language ability. He added that a younger colleague from the Kasama City Government is diligently studying Chinese and expressed his hope for an opportunity to visit the Taipei City Government for exchange and learning in the future.