Six Japanese swimmers yesterday set off on a 150km swim from Japan’s Yonaguni Island to Taiwan to thank the country for its disaster aid after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami.
Undeterred by threats from two typhoons, the six swimmers, wearing only their trunks and swimming caps imprinted with the national flags of Japan and Taiwan, battled the waves after jumping into the sea.
The relay swim, which began at 6:05am from the western port of Yonaguni Island in Okinawa Prefecture, is expected to last three days. The swimmers are aiming for Suao Township (蘇澳) in Yilan County. They will detour south to avoid the Kuroshio Current, which flows north from the Philippines to Japan via Taiwan, before riding the current north to their destination.
Photo: CNA
The swimmers carried with them three letters of gratitude from the governors of Iwate, Miyagi and Fukushima — the three prefectures hardest hit by the magnitude 9.0 earthquake that struck northeastern Japan — as well as a letter to Suao from Okinawa’s Ishigaki City. Ayahiko Matsumoto, chairman of an association to promote sports and cultural exchanges between Japan and Taiwan, presented the four letters to the team’s leader, Kazuya Suzuki, at a ceremony before the swim.
Before hitting the water, Suzuki said the journey would be a challenging one, with a strong northwestern wind brought on by typhoons striking them head on. However, his team is ready to take on the challenge. Local fishermen also estimate that the swim will be a difficult one, with 2.5m waves, and praised the swimmers for their courage.
Yonaguni Mayor Shukichi Hokama thanked Taiwan for donations that the public made to Japan after the earthquake and said he is glad to see the Japanese swimmers make the journey to Taiwan. Taiwan donated ￥20 billion (US$260.51 million) to victims of the quake, which left more than 15,000 people dead and 4,000 missing.
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