Taipei, May 28 (CNA) Yonaguni Island of Japan's Okinawa Prefecture will set up a branch office in the eastern Taiwan city of Hualien Tuesday with the goal of improving the island's ties with its sister city on all fronts and facilitating more cooperation, Yonaguni city officials said Monday in a press conference in Taipei.
Yonaguni Island, Japan's westernmost point at the end of the Ryukyu Islands chain, lies only 111 km east of Hualien and had extensive exchanges with Hualien before World War II. As Taiwan was no longer a Japan territory after the war, exchanges between both sides became limited.
It became the first Japanese city and the second Japanese local government to set up a branch office in Taiwan, following Okinawa Prefecture, which has established an office in Taipei City.
"As an outlying island, we have been dealing with difficulties in local development for many years. Japan has entered an age of `decentralization' as each local autonomy is required to develop identity, self governance and creativity for its own prosperity, " Yonaguni Mayor Hokama Syukichi said.
Hokama said Yonaguni seeks to boost its cooperation with Hualien due to their proximity.
Hokama led a delegation including City Council Speaker Sakihara Sonkichi, Deputy Speaker Maenisihara Takezou, three councilors and office staff that will attend the inauguration ceremony Tuesday.
Hokama and Hualien Mayor Tsai Chi-ta signed a cooperation agreement in October last year in which both sides agreed to collaborate on economic exchanges, tourism promotion and emergency relief. The most important aspect for the 1,700 residents of the island will be direct flights, shipping lines and fishing cooperation, Hokama said.
"On sunny days, you can see Taiwan's coastline from Yonaguni Island, " said Ma Chuan-sheng, an 82-year-old Hualien native who volunteered to help with the exchange project. By improving mutual cooperation, Ma said, Yonaguni residents will be able to check into hospitals in Hualien in emergencies.
In April 2005, the Yonaguni city council passed a resolution stating that the island sought to devote itself to its own development by more cooperation with neighboring countries such as Taiwan.
Later, when its plan to set up a "national border exchange special zone" was rejected by the Japanese government, more radical solutions were discussed by locals, including declaring independence, pushing the island into the limelight.
The Japanese government has since softened its stance by agreeing to provide needed help in the exchange project, Hokama added.