Vice Premier Cheng Wen-tsan on Thursday received a delegation led by Kumagai Toshihito, governor of Japan's Chiba Prefecture. Exchanges at a local government level play a vital role in deepening the Taiwan-Japan bilateral relationship, the vice premier said. He noted that Taoyuan City and Chiba Prefecture became friendship cities in 2016 while he was Taoyuan mayor, and in the same year, Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport established a sister airport relationship with Chiba Prefecture's Narita International Airport. The vice premier said this friendship has always been an issue close to his heart, and he hopes that the relationship between Taiwan and Chiba Prefecture will continue to go from strength to strength.
In his remarks, Governor Kumagai thanked Vice Premier Cheng for bringing Chiba Prefecture and Taiwan closer together during his time as Taoyuan mayor and said that both sides have made great strides in deepening bilateral ties in areas such as education and sports, including table tennis and marathon events, as well as fostering interpersonal exchanges. Governor Kumagai added he will continue to use his position as a prefecture governor to vigorously promote Japan-Taiwan friendship and exchanges.