6 Japanese swim to Taiwan to show quake gratitude

Ayahiko Matsumoto, in a white T-shirt, a Japanese national living in Taiwan, joins Japanese athletes, in blue caps, celebrate their swim from Japan into the Suao harbor, northeastern Taiwan, Monday, Sept. 19, 2011. Six Japanese swimmers completed a two-day, 150-kilometer relay swim from Japan’s Yonaguni Island to Taiwan to thank the island for its disaster aid after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. (AP Photo/Wally Santana)

TAIPEI, Taiwan — Six Japanese have reached the eastern coast of Taiwan after braving heavy winds and rough seas during a 95-mile (150-kilometer) swim from a southern Japanese island.

The swim that ended Monday is one of a series of Japanese gestures meant to thank Taiwan for the support it provided after the massive earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan in March. Taiwan dispatched rescuers and donated more than ¥20 billion ($260 million) for relief efforts.

The six swam in alternating relay legs over a two day period from the southern Japanese island of Yonaguni.

Taiwan was a Japanese colony from 1895-1945. The two sides have had close relations even after Tokyo switched its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1972.