Taipei City promotes 2017 Universiade in Japan

2016/01/26

A Taipei City Government delegation headed by Mayor Ko Wen-je embarked Jan. 24 on a seven-day Japan trip promoting the 2107 Summer Universiade and expanding communication channels.

Touring Tokyo, Yokohama and Osaka, as well as the island of Naoshima in the Seto Inland Sea, the contingent will observe Japanese preparations for the 2020 Summer Olympics. These span the areas of disaster prevention, industry incubation and tourism development.

Ko said the trip represents an opportunity for local government officials to learn more about organizing world-class events. “The operations of large-scale public venues like Tokyo Dome and Tokyo Station are definitely models worth emulating.”

According to Ko, fostering cultural and creative industries in conjunction with sports events is another focus of the trip. The delegation will visit the 3331 Arts Chiyoda center in Tokyo and Koganecho bazaar in Yokohama to see how this sector’s development is boosted through integration with local communities.

In addition, the issues of long-term care and welfare for seniors are on the trip’s agenda, Ko said. “There is certainly room for growing two-way exchanges given the rapidly aging populations of both countries.”

The delegation is scheduled to meet Tokyo Gov. Yoichi Masuzoe and former Premier Yoshiro Mori, before heading Jan. 28 to Yokohama for the inking of a CityNet partnership pact with Mayor Fumiko Hayashi.

“Going forward, we expect this tour to pave the way for substantively strengthened city-level interactions and more opportunities for cooperative projects,” Ko said.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=241662&ctNode=2194&mp=9)