The government and an overseas Taiwanese group based in Okinawa have donated ￥5.5 million (US$50,281) to the Okinawa government to help rebuild Shuri Castle, which was severely damaged in a fire on Oct. 31.
Fan Chen-kuo (范振國), representative to Naha, the capital of Okinawa Prefecture, on Thursday last week presented ￥3.5 million to Okinawa Governor Denny Tamaki on behalf of the government to assist with the rebuilding of the UNESCO World Heritage site, Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said yesterday.
Ryukyu Overseas Chinese Association president Mitsuteru Harimoto accompanied Fan to the meeting and donated ￥2 million on behalf of Taiwanese living in Japan, Ou said.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The government hopes the donations will help with the rebuilding of the historical site and ensure it is returned to its former glory as soon as possible, she said.
At least seven buildings, including the main structure of the castle, burned down, with an electrical fault being the likely cause of the fire, according to Japanese media reports.
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