TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung City Council Speaker Kang Yu-cheng (康裕成) on Wednesday received a delegation from Japan’s Himi City to discuss cooperation between the two cities.

Kang said their bond grew out of early port and industrial projects that linked the two cities long before formal exchanges began.

“Kaohsiung and Himi have stayed close through a shared history, and both sides want to keep the relationship moving forward,” Kang said, according to CNA. 

Liberty Times reported the visiting group was led by Himi Mayor Kikuchi Masahiro and included officials from industry and tourism. It marked the first mayoral visit since a Himi delegation came to Taiwan in 2023, with Kang and several city councilors saying discussions centered on practical cooperation.

Kang said the historical connection traces back to Japanese industrialist Asano Soichiro, whose work on port construction and industrial development in Kaohsiung helped link the two cities, per Yahoo News. She said the legacy has in recent years shifted from symbolic ties to concrete projects.

She added that Kaohsiung’s Gushan District and Himi signed a friendship agreement in 2020, leading to youth exchanges, cultural programs, education cooperation, and tourism visits, per CTS. She said the exchanges show how long-standing ties can translate into day-to-day collaboration.

Kikuchi thanked Kaohsiung for its warm welcome and for messages of support following Japan’s 2024 Noto Peninsula earthquake. He said Himi plans to continue expanding exchanges with Kaohsiung in the years ahead.