Never forget Taiwan: 6th anniversary of the 311 earthquake. He stands on a Taipei street holding a sign to thank Taiwan.

▲ Mr. Morita spent his weekend standing on a Taipei street to thank Taiwan. (Photo / Provided by Mr. Morita)

Reported by reporter Tsai Wen-jun

This weekend coincides with the 6th anniversary of the 311 Great East Japan Earthquake. Mr. Morita from Japan, in gratitude for the aid Taiwan provided at the time, spent two days standing on a Taipei street holding a sign thanking Taiwan. “Even if just one more person sees it, I want to convey my gratitude directly to as many Taiwanese people as possible. I will never forget how Taiwan helped us back then.”

▲ The scene of Mr. Morita standing in Ximending on March 11. (Photo / Provided by Mr. Morita)

Currently working as a child caregiver, Mr. Morita is from Kanagawa Prefecture. When asked why he chose to come to Taiwan specifically on the 6th anniversary to hold up a sign of thanks, he said that after the 311 earthquake six years ago, Japan received help from all over the world, but the massive amount of donations and support from Taiwan deeply moved many Japanese. In order to convey his gratitude to more Taiwanese people, he chose to stand on March 10 and 11 holding a sign of thanks at Taipei Main Station and Ximending.

▲ Many members of the public came to take photos with Mr. Morita. (Photo / Provided by Mr. Morita)

“I’ve been to Taiwan many times so far and have expressed my gratitude to many Taiwanese people I met, but I felt this approach was too small in scale. I want to say ‘thank you’ to even more Taiwanese,” said Mr. Morita. Because he enjoys learning languages, he also started a Japanese-Taiwanese language exchange group called“Thank You Taiwan”in Taiwan this year, which had over 250 Taiwanese participants. When he mentioned his plan to do this activity to his Taiwanese classmates, they also gave strong support, which further motivated him to carry out this meaningful event in Taiwan.

Although the activity has ended, Mr. Morita said, “It was truly a joy to be able to express my gratitude directly to so many Taiwanese people.” He also wanted to say that he is truly grateful to Taiwan for helping us during the earthquake, and he will never forget the assistance Taiwan gave Japan six years ago.