TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A total of 17 tons of pineapples ordered by enterprises in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture were put into a container in Kaohsiung's Neimen District on Tuesday (April 13) for shipping to Japan.

Kaohsiung’s Agriculture Bureau said that since China unilaterally banned Taiwan’s pineapples, the Japanese have been showing their support for their neighbor by buying the besieged agricultural product, CNA reported.

Yoshimura Mieko, governor of Yamagata Prefecture, has privately shown her support by urging businesses in her region to make group purchases of Kaohsiung’s pineapples. The orders have been booked through local agricultural associations in Japan.

The bureau said that in 2016 former Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu (陳菊) and Yoshimura signed a memorandum to strengthen bilateral economic, cultural, and academic cooperation. The two sides visited each other and formed a deep friendly relationship, according to the bureau.

Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) expressed his gratitude for the friendly gesture made by the Japanese and promised to continue promoting exchanges between the two localities.