Tokyo Governor Shintaro Ishihara's election victory was aided by his strong name recognition in Japan. He is a winner of one of Japan's prestigious literary prizes and is the elder brother of one of the country's most beloved actors, the late Yujiro Ishihara.
For many Taiwanese, Ishihara's recent visit here brought back memories of his younger brother's movies, many of which were quite popular here 20-30 years ago. Yujiro played good guys and bad guys, but always with a heroic fervor, and his films caught on with Taiwanese audiences that were tired of political corruption and government heavy-handedness.
Taiwanese moviegoers saw in Yujiro a kind of Japanese John Wayne/James Dean figure and his films made an impression on people who are today in their 50s and 60s.
Yujiro's films are not so well known or admired by mainlanders who do not harbor the same kind of sentimental feelings toward Japan that ethnic Taiwanese do, according to a Taiwanese reporter who remembers watching Ishihara's films as a teenager.
However, today's younger generation -- who love contemporary Japanese music, movies and fashion and are "turning Japanese" in ever-increasing numbers -- know nothing about Ishihara or his films. Namie Amuro, yes; Yujiro Ishihara, no.
"While Governor Ishihara's visit here raised eyebrows in Beijing and caused a media storm in Taiwan -- with some papers criticizing him and others praising him -- perhaps the end result of it all will be for all Taiwanese to reflect on the past and think about the future," the same Taiwanese reporter mentioned above told the Taipei Times. "His brother represents the past, in a kind of nostalgic way, while Shintaro's visit here will hopefully make the younger generation think about what `New Taiwanese' culture is."
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