Thank you, Taiwan！ A thousand posters handed out in front of Tokyo Dome — Japanese cheer for Team China

By Yu Ru / Taipei reporting

Team China advanced to the quarterfinals as the top seed in their group at this year’s World Baseball Classic and will face powerhouse Japan tomorrow (the 8th). Many Taiwanese fans booked flights to Tokyo as soon as it was confirmed that the team would compete in Japan, while some Japanese took advantage of the “Taiwan fever” by posting on Facebook announcing that on the 10th, when Team China plays in the WBC at Tokyo Dome, 1,000 “Go Team Taiwan!” posters will be handed out to cheer them on.


▲Japanese initiative to cheer for Taiwan will distribute a thousand posters at Tokyo Dome. (Photo / Provided by Hideo Kato)

“We plan to distribute 1,000 posters like the one shown here at Tokyo Dome on the day Taiwan plays its match, to cheer them on！ The main goal of this campaign is to once again express our gratitude to Taiwan for the strong support they gave Japan around the upcoming second anniversary of the 311 earthquake.” Campaign initiator Hideo Kato posted on Facebook yesterday (the 7th) about the poster distribution, which quickly went viral with thousands of shares, with many netizens responding emotionally in the comments, such as “It turns out we really didn’t donate our money to the wrong place” and “Taiwan and Japan are truly friendly.”

Hideo Kato explained that he initiated the “1,000 Posters to Cheer for Taiwan” campaign because he himself had been forced to leave his home due to the 311 tsunami, and went through a period of deep sorrow and despair. “Although the per capita income of Taiwanese people is lower than that of Japanese, they were willing to donate their money to us — I was truly moved,” said Kato. These donations came not only from companies and organizations, but also from the heartfelt support of Taiwan’s 23 million people. As a Japanese who received help from Taiwan, this feeling of gratitude will stay with him forever. “I want to remind all Japanese people that even as time passes and memories fade, never forget the heartfelt support the Taiwanese gave to Japan.”