To promote cultural and urban exchange between Taiwan and Japan, Toru Hoshihara, the Taiwan Exchange Ambassador for Japan’s Miyazaki Prefecture, led Executive Director Yoshimitsu Fukuda on a recent visit to the Taichung City Government. They engaged in in-depth discussions with the Cultural Affairs Bureau regarding the restoration of historical and cultural assets. The meeting focused specifically on "wooden structure restoration experience" and "forestry timber applications," with both parties hoping to establish a comprehensive foundation for cooperation across industrial and cultural sectors to create mutually beneficial opportunities.

Ambassador Hoshihara stated that Miyazaki Prefecture is a major forestry hub in Japan, possessing abundant forest resources and mature timber processing technologies. Meanwhile, Taichung City not only holds an advantage in the development of woodworking machinery but also preserves many precious wooden buildings from the Japanese colonial period. During the meeting, the Cultural Assets Department shared information on the "No. 75 Linsen Road Japanese-style Dormitory," a historical building scheduled to complete restoration this year. During the colonial era, this building served as the official residence for the "Local Technicians of the Agriculture and Forestry Division of Taichung Prefecture." This historical connection to "agriculture and forestry" felt particularly familiar to the Miyazaki delegation, highlighting the high potential for exchange in wooden building restoration techniques. In response, Ambassador Hoshihara provided relevant data and contact information for the Miyazaki Prefecture Forest Forestry Association, expressing hope for substantive cooperation opportunities with Taichung’s cultural asset restoration sites in the future.

The Cultural Assets Department pointed out that Taichung City has spared no effort in promoting the preservation of cultural assets over the years. Taking the ongoing restoration of the "Chaoyang Street Japanese-style Dormitories" and the "Siwei Street Japanese-style Guest House in West District" as examples, all projects follow the "Cultural Heritage Preservation Act" with rigorous preliminary investigations. They implement restoration principles such as "minimal intervention," "reversibility," and "prioritization of original materials." Addressing common issues in Taiwan’s climate like wood decay and termites, the city government adopts structural partial replacements to "preserve usable old timber" alongside integrated environmental prevention strategies. Simultaneously, while maintaining traditional features like bamboo-woven mud walls and earthen walls, modern equipment is introduced discreetly to balance cultural preservation with functional utility.

The Cultural Assets Department further shared successful examples of integrating cultural assets with public life, such as the "Japanese-style Police Dormitories" transformed into the Taichung Museum of Literature, and the "Chingshui Elementary School Japanese-style Dormitory Cluster" which incorporates educational functions. It is hoped that in the future, by leveraging Miyazaki Prefecture’s excellence in forestry expertise, the two sides can continue to deepen cooperation in areas such as pest and rot prevention for monuments and historical buildings, extending the lifespan of old timber, and revitalizing wooden structures to jointly protect precious cultural assets.