A Taiwan tourism television commercial featuring Japanese “drama king” Takuya Kimura aired yesterday on several Japanese outlets, including TV Asahi, a Japanese women’s fashion show and television walls at the busiest intersections in Tokyo and Osaka.
The Tourism Bureau said that it hoped that the commercial would help boost the number of Japanese travelers to Taiwan.
Tourism Bureau Deputy Director-General Wayne Liu (劉喜臨) said that Taiwan is one of the few countries in the world to experience positive growth from the Japanese tourist market last year, despite the devaluation of the Japanese yen.
Approximately 1.63 million Japanese travelers visited Taiwan last year, but the number shrunk by 4.4 percent in the first eight months of this year.
According to the bureau, the 60-second commercial, titled I love Taiwan features mango shaved ice, steamed buns and oolong tea, three Taiwanese delicacies that are famous in Japan.
The commercial’s director, famed Hong Kong film director John Woo (吳宇森), weaves together time and space in Japan and Taiwan, the bureau said, adding that the commercial highlights Taiwanese food and events through a comparative montage.
The commercial moves from Japan to Taiwan through flying white doves, a signature feature of Woo’s work, the bureau said.
The bureau said that the white doves reappear toward the end of the commercial. A headline in Japanese, which means “One’s distance and heart are close to Taiwan,” is displayed on the screen as the doves take flight.
Kimura says “Time for Taiwan,” at the end of the commercial, the bureau said.
The bureau said that the commercial was shown during the program Pet Kingdom on TV Asahi between 9:30am and 10am.
The commercial was simultaneously aired on television walls at the Shibuya Train Station intersection in Tokyo and television walls in Dotonbori in Osaka.
Bureau representatives aired the commercial in Japan for about 30,000 women aged between 15 and 35 attending the Tokyo Girls Collection fashion show yesterday.
The 60-second commercial has also been edited into three 15-second commercials based on the three themes, which are to be aired on Japanese television networks next month, the bureau said.
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