TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Japanese Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru on Wednesday extended condolences to Taiwan after Typhoon Ragasa left 14 dead, 46 missing, and 32 injured.

In an X post, Ishiba said: “I wish to express my heartfelt condolences to those who lost their lives and extend my sincere sympathy to their families.”

He lamented that Taiwan has been affected by “multiple destructive typhoons and heavy rains.” “I sincerely pray that the people of Taiwan can return to normal life as soon as possible,” he said.

Katayama Kazuyuki, head of the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in Taipei, Keiji Furuya, chair of the Japan-ROC Diet Members’ Consultative Council, and other Japanese lawmakers also publicly expressed their sympathy.

President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) thanked the prime minister on X, saying, “We sincerely thank friends from all walks of life in Japan for their concern, and we also look forward to continuing to deepen disaster prevention cooperation with Japan in the future to jointly address common challenges.”

Lai said Taiwan is assisting local governments to rescue those stranded and continuing post-disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts.

Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) also expressed gratitude for Japan’s concern and looked forward to deepening Taiwan-Japan cooperation and exchanges in disaster prevention and mitigation.

Whenever major disasters occur, Taiwan and Japan show mutual concern and assistance, setting a model for friendly international cooperation, the foreign ministry said.