Friendly baseball game between Taiwanese and Japanese young people held in Osaka

The SES baseball team played a game with two Sakai Municipal baseball teams on June 20, 2015. In the beginning, the players on both sides were a little nervous, but after a while they settled fully into the game, bravely dashing to catch the ball, and swinging the bat strongly. Their show of wonderful skills attracted maximum applause from the audience. SES won one game and lost the other one, and the purpose of friendly exchange was achieved. All the players improved their baseball skills and made friends by participating in these friendly games.

A welcome party was held in the evening. Tsai Ming-Yao, the director of TECO in Osaka spoke and exhorted the young people of Taiwan and Japan who have inherited the tradition of friendly exchanges between the two countries to further enhance friendly bilateral cooperation. Okashita Shohei, a Diet member, first expressed his thanks for the assistance from Taiwan after the East Japan Great Earthquake, and he then expressed his wish that the players on each side would meet again in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, and repeat the wonderful play of the 2013 World Baseball Classic.

Many people’s efforts led to this event taking place. Sakai City formed a preparatory committee in October last year to promote baseball exchanges with Taiwanese adolescents. The committee of 21 people, drawn from the city government and businesses, met each month, and it requested TECO in Osaka to assist with communication with SES.

The committee president, Mr. Yoshikawa, said that due to the great success of this event, it will be held again next year, to become a platform for friendly exchanges between adolescents from Taiwan and Japan.

Photo:Players and members of the preparatory committee