An exhibition and music festival are to be held later this month in Taipei to commemorate the 10th anniversary of a devastating earthquake and tsunami that killed an estimated 20,000 people in Japan, the country’s representative office in Taiwan said yesterday.
The exhibition, running from Wednesday next week to March 21, would feature photographs of scenes immediately after the disaster in the northeast of the country and pictures of what those areas look like today, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association said.
It would also feature signature boards, signed by Japanese comic artists, expressing gratitude to Taiwan for its assistance after the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, the association said in a news release.
In a special section of the exhibition at Huashan 1914 Creative Park, a display of books about the disaster, by Taiwanese and Japanese writers, would highlight the friendly ties between the countries, it said.
Other events include a fair and a music festival on Saturday and Sunday next week at the park plaza, it said.
The festival would feature musicians playing traditional Japanese instruments such as taiko drums and the shamisen, a three-stringed lute, as well as Taiwanese indie band Fire Ex (滅火器), winner of the best band prize at last year’s Golden Melody Awards.
Taiwan-based Japanese YouTuber Keigo Mihara would also participate, the association said.
The magnitude 9 earthquake and subsequent tsunami struck northeastern Japan, causing a meltdown at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, and resulting in billions of dollars in losses in the Japanese economy.
In the aftermath of the disaster, Taiwan’s government and private sector donated a total of ￥25 billion (US$234.26 million at the current exchange rate) in aid, and sent search and rescue teams to Japan, earning the country’s eternal gratitude, the association said.
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