governor norihisa satake of akita prefecture and mieko yoshimura of yamagata prefecture were at a gathering of taiwan's tourism and airline industries in taipei on thursday on a promotion campaign. the two governors spoke about the frost-covered trees in the winter, the hot springs and the local delicacies. they also proposed new package tours to the tohoku region and asked for taiwan's cooperation in sending more tourists. the number of visitors from taiwan to the two prefectures which totaled 70,000 last year, has dropped significantly. chartered flights connecting taiwan with yamagata and akita have been suspended ever since the earthquake struck. >> translator: the tohoku area should be reconstructed as a whole. i'm here on behalf of all six prefectures. we want to work together to reinvigorate the region. >>> when the march earthquake and tsunami struck the city of ofunato fishermen were left in dire straits with their fish nets torn they were left with no way to make a living. in a city five kilometers away, fishermen worked nonstop to get the fishermen in the northeastern prefecture

governor norihisa satake of akita prefecture and mieko yoshimura of yamagata prefecture were at a gathering of taiwan's tourism and airline industries in taipei on thursday on a promotion campaign. the two governors spoke about the frost-covered trees in the winter, the hot springs and the local delicacies. they also proposed new package tours to the tohoku region and asked for taiwan's cooperation in sending more tourists. the number of visitors from taiwan to the two prefectures which totaled 70,000 last year, has dropped significantly. chartered flights connecting taiwan with yamagata and akita have been suspended since the earthquake struck. >> translator: the tohoku area should be reconstructed as a whole. i'm here on behalf of all six prefectures. we want to work together to reinvigorate the region. >>> israel has launched an air raid on the palestinian controlled gaza strip. the retaliatory measure came after a series of attacks in israel. seven israelis were killed on thursday near the red sea resort of eliat in three separate attacks on busses, a car and a military vehicle. the isr