Mayor Hou Yu-ih presents a New Taipei Select gift to Assembly member Hiroaki Kawana (left).

An 11-member delegation from the Chiba Prefectural Assembly, led by Assembly member Hiroaki Kawana, paid an official visit to New Taipei City Mayor Hou Yu-ih on December 18, 2025. During the meeting, the two sides exchanged views on Taiwan–Japan municipal exchanges and shared governance experiences among cities in major metropolitan regions.
 
Mayor Hou noted that New Taipei City and Chiba Prefecture are both located within large capital regions and face similar challenges in urban governance, transportation development, environmental sustainability, and population aging. Both have accumulated valuable governance experience from which they can learn from one another. Mayor Hou added that many members of the visiting delegation have extensive backgrounds and experience in local legislative affairs, making this visit particularly meaningful for deepening mutual understanding.
 

Group photo of Mayor Hou and the visiting delegation.

Mayor Hou further pointed out that New Taipei City and Chiba Prefecture have long maintained close exchanges. For example, Assembly member Hiroaki Kawamura has led the civic group Hana no Tabi (Flower Tour Group) on annual visits to New Taipei City, with this November marking the group’s 10th visit. In the field of education, New Taipei City Municipal Hsin Tien Senior High School and Chiba Prefectural Kokubun High School, as well as New Taipei Municipal Yingge Vocational High School and Chiba Prefectural Inba Meisei High School, have established sister-school relationships, demonstrating the depth and stability of the friendship between the two regions.
 
Delegation head and Assembly member Kawana stated that the members of this visit all belong to the Chiba Seikei policy group of the Chiba Prefectural Assembly. He expressed hope that this visit would serve as an opportunity to further promote exchanges between New Taipei City and Chiba Prefecture in a wide range of fields, including the economy, tourism, culture, and local development. He also noted that next year, Chiba Governor Toshihito Kumagai will personally visit Taiwan to promote Chiba Prefecture’s high-quality agricultural products, fully demonstrating Chiba’s strong commitment to deepening exchanges and cooperation with Taiwan.
 

Mayor Hou introduces a painting of New Taipei City’s beautiful landscape to the visiting delegation.

Distinguished members of the visiting delegation included ten Assembly members: Hiroaki Kawana, Shinya Ai, Mitsuyasu Shida, Masaki Onozaki, Nao Miyasaka, Hiroshi Ito, Shingo Amamiya, Takahito Sumi, Takeshi Tabata, and Takehito Matsuzawa, as well as former Chairman of the Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce & Industry in Chiba, Chung Hsing-chang. Representing the New Taipei City Government were Deputy Secretary-General Ko Ching-chung and Senior Technical Specialist Huang Di-sheng from the New Taipei City Fire Department.