Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung presented the Friend of Foreign Service Medal to Governor Shinji Hirai of Japan’s Tottori prefecture Feb. 10 in Taipei City.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the honor recognizes the governor’s long-standing contributions to promoting bilateral exchange in areas such as agriculture, youth issues and urban development.
Lin said his friendship with the governor was established during his tenure as mayor of Taichung and as minister of transportation and communications. He expressed admiration for Hirai’s tireless promotion of dialogue between Taiwan and Japan during his nearly 20 years as governor of Tottori prefecture.
Taiwan and Japan reached another record high of more than eight million mutual visits in 2025, the minister said. With the official opening of a flight route between Taoyuan International Airport and Tottori Airport last May, Lin expects bilateral exchanges to become even more frequent in the future.
In response, Hirai thanked Lin for his full support of exchanges with Tottori prefecture during his time as mayor of Taichung, including signing a bilateral exchange agreement in 2018. The governor said four events at World Masters Games 2027 Kansai will be held in his prefecture, adding that he anticipated continued sports exchanges with Taiwan. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the honor recognizes the governor’s long-standing contributions to promoting bilateral exchange in areas such as agriculture, youth issues and urban development.
Lin said his friendship with the governor was established during his tenure as mayor of Taichung and as minister of transportation and communications. He expressed admiration for Hirai’s tireless promotion of dialogue between Taiwan and Japan during his nearly 20 years as governor of Tottori prefecture.
Taiwan and Japan reached another record high of more than eight million mutual visits in 2025, the minister said. With the official opening of a flight route between Taoyuan International Airport and Tottori Airport last May, Lin expects bilateral exchanges to become even more frequent in the future.
In response, Hirai thanked Lin for his full support of exchanges with Tottori prefecture during his time as mayor of Taichung, including signing a bilateral exchange agreement in 2018. The governor said four events at World Masters Games 2027 Kansai will be held in his prefecture, adding that he anticipated continued sports exchanges with Taiwan. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw
from Taiwan Today – Top News