Japanese drama king Takuya Kimura arrived in Taiwan yesterday for the first time in his 28-year performing arts career.
Tourism Bureau officials said the Japanese singer-actor would feature in a promotional film, confirming the Internet rumors started on Friday night.
According to bureau officials, Kimura is in Taiwan at the invitation of Hong Kong director John Woo (吳宇森), who is to direct the bureau-funded film.
Photo: Chen I-kuan, Taipei Times
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-general Liu Hsi-lin (劉喜臨) said the bureau wished to feature Kimura in the film to further open the Japanese tourism market.
“Kimura appeals to both middle-aged white-collar workers and young professionals who make up the largest number of Japanese tourists to Taiwan,” he said.
The film is about food and culture and is to be shot over two days, Liu said, adding that “even we are not sure” about the details.
Ko Fu-hung (葛福鴻) of Asia Plus Broadcasting Ltd has been given authority to communicate with Kimura’s Japanese managers, Liu said.
Due to a confidential agreement, filming dates, location and content are all secret, he said, adding that a similar model had been used during earlier visits by Masaharu Fukuyama and Sachiko Kobayashi with film-making details publicized post-release.
When asked why Kimura’s arrival had been exposed, Liu said that despite a guarantee of strict discipline at Asia Plus, staff might have leaked the news.
“Original plans and personnel for the film might be changed to protect the confidentiality of filming,” the tourism official said.
Liu said the film could come out by the end of the year in Japan and Taiwanese fans would be able to see it online.
A Keelung high school on Saturday night apologized for using a picture containing a Chinese flag on the cover of the senior yearbook, adding that it has recalled the books and pledged to provide students new ones before graduation on Thursday. Of 309 Affiliated Keelung Maritime Senior High School of National Taiwan Ocean University graduates, 248 had purchased the yearbook. Some students said that the printer committed an outrageous error in including the picture, while others said that nobody would notice such a small flag on the cover. Other students said that they cared more about the photographs of classmates and what was
GOING INTERNATIONAL: Rakuten Girls squad leader Ula Shen said she was surprised that baseball fans outside of Taiwan not only knew of them, but also knew their names Major League Baseball’s (MLB) Oakland Athletics on Saturday hosted its first Taiwanese Heritage Day event at the Oakland Coliseum with a performance by Taiwanese cheerleading squad the Rakuten Girls and a video message from Vice President William Lai (賴清德). The Rakuten Girls, who are the cheerleaders for the CPBL’s Rakuten Monkeys, performed in front of a crowd of more than 2,000 people, followed by a prerecorded address by Lai about Taiwan’s baseball culture and democratic spirit. Taiwanese pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸), who was signed by the Athletics earlier this year, was also present. Mizuki Lin (林襄), considered a “baseball cheerleading goddess” by Taiwanese
WAY OF THE RUKAI: ‘Values deemed worthy often exist amid discomfort, so when people go against the flow, nature becomes entwined with our lives,’ a student said “Run, don’t walk” after your dreams, Nvidia cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) told National Taiwan University (NTU) graduates yesterday, as several major universities held in-person graduation ceremonies for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic. “What will you create? Whatever it is, run after it. Run, don’t walk. Remember, either you’re running for food, or you are running from becoming food. Oftentimes, you can’t tell which. Either way, run,” he said. Huang was one of several tech executives addressing graduating students at Taiwanese universities. National Chengchi University held two ceremonies, with alumnus Patrick Pan (潘先國), who is head of Taiwan
A 14-legged giant isopod is the highlight of a new dish at a ramen restaurant in Taipei and it has people lining up — both for pictures and for a bite from this bowl of noodles. Since “The Ramen Boy” launched the limited-edition noodle bowl on Monday last week, declaring in a social media post that it had “finally got this dream ingredient,” more than 100 people have joined a waiting list to dine at the restaurant. “It is so attractive because of its appearance — it looks very cute,” said the 37-year-old owner of the restaurant, who wanted to be
RSS