TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan on Thursday (April 16) donated two million surgical masks to Japan, where the authorities have declared a state of emergency in major cities over spiked coronavirus (COVID-19) cases.

In a ceremony held on Thursday afternoon, both Chiou I-jen (邱義仁), president of the Taiwan-Japan Relations Association, and Japanese Representative to Taiwan Izumi Hiroyasu were photographed holding a gigantic pink mask printed with “Made in Taiwan.” It symbolized the passing over of the face masks from Taiwan to Japan.

The donation is a response to requests for masks made earlier by the Japan-Taiwan Friendship Diet, a pro-Taiwan caucus in the Japanese parliament, and civil groups in Japan, according to Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). It reflects the close and robust friendship shared by Taiwan and Japan, the ministry said.

The donations will be shipped in the coming days and given to the Japanese authorities through the caucus. As of Thursday, the coronavirus has sickened more than 8,000 people and killed more than 100 in Japan.

Earlier in April, Japan’s Prime Minister Abe Shinzo declared a state of emergency in seven major cities and prefectures, including Tokyo and Osaka, following a surge of infectious cases in the country since late March. It is reported that the Japanese authorities are likely to extend the emergency issuance to the rest of the country soon.

MOFA said via a press statement that the two countries had lent a helping hand to one another whenever a natural disaster occurred in the past and even during the current pandemic crisis. The ministry called for strengthened cooperation with Japan in information sharing, research into vaccines and medication, and medical exchanges in the face of the coronavirus.

Japan offered assistance earlier when the Taiwanese government evacuated its nationals quarantined on a cruise ship via a charter flight, the ministry said. The Japanese authorities also helped evacuate Taiwanese stranded in India and Fiji by allowing them to board the charter flights arranged by them, it added.