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Community Compass: Writer from Japan still discovering Taiwan

“Taiwanese attach great importance to communication among family members and value the virtue of filial piety and the concept of respect for elders.”

— Meiko Fukuoka, Japanese writer

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Articles highlighting the beauty of Taiwan by a Japanese graduate student studying at I-Shou University in Kaohsiung County have drawn a great deal of attention among Japanese readers after they were posted on the Web site of an overseas Japanese reporters’ club.

Since moving to Taiwan with her husband 10 years ago, Meiko Fukuoka, a freelance writer and a graduate student at the university’s Institute of Applied Japanese, has written numerous online articles describing what she has seen and heard in the country.

Her online stories have made a splash in the Japanese community and have also become a main source of information for Japanese journalists reporting on Taiwan.

Because of her popularity, Fukuoka has been hired by several Japanese magazines to write stories about Taiwan.

The Japanese writer said she fell in love with Taiwan when she and her family moved here 10 years ago after her husband, a construction engineer, was dispatched here for work.

Fukuoka said that unlike people in other countries, Taiwanese are very friendly to foreigners and quite conversational. They are not xenophobic, she added, and are happy to help people from other countries.

“Taiwanese attach great importance to communication among family members and value the virtue of filial piety and the concept of respect for elders,” she said.

Citing the local blockbuster Cape No. 7 (海角七號), Fukuoka said it was a rare experience for her to see Taiwan’s youngsters and senior citizens jointly stage a performance and share music as depicted in the film, a scene she said is not common at all in Japanese society.

Covering news events and writing stories based on various topics requested by various Japanese journals, Fukuoka said she has had many chances to get a better understanding of various aspects of Taiwan.

“From the perspective of a Japanese, it is interesting to see many things in Taiwan,” Fukuoka said, citing as an example an interview with Aborigines in Santimen (三地門) in Pingtung County during which she was impressed by their passion and easy-going attitude, and fascinated by Aboriginal culture, which is splendid, rich in color, and full of folk style.

Fukuoka said she also enjoys the food, the festivals and Aboriginal dance.

Fukuoka lives in Taipei City and commutes between the city and Kaohsiung County to study every week.

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