Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Japan’s Aso Kumamoto Airport yesterday became sister airports following the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two airport operators in Taipei.
The MOU was signed by Taoyuan International Airport Corp (TIAC) chairman Yang Wei-fuu (楊偉甫) and Kyushu Kumamoto International Airport Co president Hideaki Yamakawa, making the Japanese airport the Taoyuan airport’s 15th sister airport.
“The signing of the MOU is an important milestone that would deepen Taiwan and Japan’s cooperation in economics, trade and culture,” Yang said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC) investment in a new fab in Kumamoto has created greater demand for air transportation between the two hubs, with passenger traffic increasing more than threefold from about 45,000 people last year to more than 140,000 in the first nine months of this year, he said.
The upsurge in passenger traffic has brought about more collaboration opportunities between the two airports, Yang said, thanking officials from the Japanese airport for visiting Taiwan and proposing the signing of an MOU.
The MOU marks a starting point for Taiwan and Japan to broaden and bolster cooperation in the high-tech industry, he said.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport
TIAC has upgraded its airport facilities and services in line with customer needs and expects to learn from its exchanges with Aso Kumamoto Airport, Yang said.
Yamakawa said he was happy to participate in the signing ceremony, thanking Yang, Ministry of Transportation and Communications Department of Navigation and Aviation Director Han Chen-hua (韓振華), Kumamoto Prefectural Government Department of Planning and Development Director Yoshiyuki Tominaga, and other guests and staff.
Aso Kumamoto Airport is dedicated to building itself into the gateway for the world to Kumamoto, he said.
A new terminal at the airport started operating in March, with a section designed for passenger service and another one for commercial activities to provide more convenient services for tourists and business travelers, Yamakawa said.
The MOU would facilitate Aso Kumamoto Airport’s efforts in developing local economies, tourism and cultures, he said, expecting the ties and cooperation between the two airports to evolve into exchanges between governments, industries and companies of both sides.
Han said the signing of the MOU symbolizes deeper ties between Taiwan and Japan in terms of tourism, airline services, economics and trade.
Japan is the top travel destination for Taiwanese, with more than 4 million Taiwanese visiting Japan in the first eight months of this year, he said.
From January to last month, more than 1 million Japanese visited Taiwan, a nearly 50 percent increase from last year, Han said.
The number of flights between Taiwan and Japan has increased to 773 per week, surpassing the previous record of 709 flights before the COVID-19 pandemic, he said, adding that there are at least 12 weekly flights between Taoyuan and Kumamoto.
The MOU is expected to increase exchanges of experience in airport services, operations and management between the two airports, Han said, adding that it is Taoyuan International Airport’s first MOU with a Kyushu airport and the fourth with a Japanese airport.
Tominaga expressed his appreciation for Taiwan providing aid to Kumamoto after an earthquake in April 2016.
Aso Kumamoto Airport is representative of the prefecture’s resilience in bouncing back from the quake, he said.
Exchanges between Taiwan and Japan thrived following TSMC’s decision to set up a fab in Kumamoto in 2021 and have extended from economics to culture, he said.
Aso Kumamoto Airport resumed scheduled flights between Kumamoto and Taoyuan in September last year, which are provided by China Airlines and Starlux Airlines, Tominaga said, adding that more than 180,000 passengers from Taiwan had used these flights.
The signing of the MOU would benefit Kumamoto and open doors to more collaborative opportunities between two sides, he said, adding that the Kumamoto Prefectural Government would do its best to help both airports prosper and develop.
(Taoyuan International Airport special report)
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as
RSS