Taiwan donates publicly raised funds to Japan for Kumamoto quake aid
More than NT$300 million collected through a month-long Foreign Ministry account has been donated to Japan to assist areas affected by July’s Kumamoto earthquake.
- A public fundraising campaign in Taiwan raised over 300 million New Taiwan dollars (1.5 billion yen) for earthquake relief in Japan.
- The funds are designated to aid areas in Japan's Kumamoto Prefecture, which was affected by a major earthquake.
- Taiwan's Foreign Minister officially presented the donation to a representative of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.
- The collection was managed by Taiwan's Foreign Ministry, which accepted public donations through a dedicated bank account for one month.
A public collection in Taiwan raised more than 300 million New Taiwan dollars, equivalent to 1.5 billion yen, for areas affected by July’s major earthquake in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan.
Kazuyuki Katayama, chief representative of the Taipei Office of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, received a record of the contributions from Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung during a ceremony at Taiwan’s Foreign Ministry in Taipei on Thursday (September 17).
The ministry had opened a dedicated bank account on August 1 and accepted public donations for one month.
Lin used the occasion to advocate closer cooperation between Taiwan and Japan on disaster prevention and mitigation, pointing to the support they had given each other during major disasters.
“A friend in need is a friend indeed,” he said.
Katayama expressed his gratitude for the donations, describing the transition from receiving assistance to offering it as a positive cycle that demonstrated the friendship between Japan and Taiwan.
[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]
