Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba today sent his condolences to those in Taiwan affected by Super Typhoon Ragasa, which has left at least 15 people dead.
Ishiba wrote on X that he was "deeply saddened to hear about the devastation caused by Typhoon Ragasa in eastern Taiwan."
"I express my deepest condolences to the victims. My sincere sympathy to their families and my heartfelt thoughts to all those affected," he wrote in Mandarin and Japanese.
Photo: AFP
Ishiba said he was saddened to see Taiwan hit by typhoons and heavy rain over the past few months.
"I sincerely pray that the people of Taiwan can return to normal life as soon as possible," he said.
President William Lai (賴清德), Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) all thanked Ishiba for his concern and well wishes.
"The government is fully committed to assisting local governments in rescuing those stranded, and carrying out post-disaster recovery and reconstruction," Lai wrote in Mandarin on X.
"We sincerely appreciate the concern of our friends from all walks of life in Japan, and look forward to further deepening disaster preparedness cooperation with Japan to address shared challenges jointly," Lai added.
"We thank the Japanese government and people for their continued friendship and warmth when Taiwan needs them most," Hsiao wrote in Japanese on X.
Lee quoted the old saying "a friend in need is a friend indeed" on social media, using the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Japan's account.
"Whenever disaster strikes Taiwan or Japan, each side will always lend a helping hand to the other. I believe that the bond, or kizuna — the spiritual connection between Taiwan and Japan — will remain unchanged," he wrote in Japanese.
As of this morning, Super Typhoon Ragasa had left at least 15 people dead, all in Hualien County, with 32 injured and 31 still missing.
On Tuesday, the Mataian River (馬太鞍溪) barrier lake burst, flooding Hualien County's Guangfu Township (光復). Most of the dead and missing are from the area.
Several foreign representative offices in Taiwan, including those of the EU, Japan, the UK and the US have extended their condolences to those affected by the super typhoon.
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