Kumamoto's governor visited Kaohsiung to thank the city for its fast help after July's big earthquake — a warm moment for Taiwan-Japan ties.

• Governor Takashi Kimura led a delegation to Kaohsiung, his first stop in Taiwan, and met Mayor Chen Chi-mai.
• Kaohsiung rushed supplies and hot meals into the disaster zone and raised more than 150 million yen in donations.
• The city set up a wall of handwritten good-luck cards from residents, collected at a Taiwan-Japan fruit festival during the quake recovery.
• Both sides want to deepen ties in semiconductors, as Kaohsiung and Kumamoto are each building up chip and high-tech industries.
• The two have been sister cities since 2017, with 25 school partnerships plus youth, culture, tourism and sports exchanges.

Outlook: Expect more cooperation on chips, research and training talent as global supply chains keep shifting.