The Kaohsiung Rapid Transit Corp (KRTC) has invited a Japanese rice ball vendor and his Taiwanese wife based in the city to open a stall in one of the city’s stations after a video of their landlord smashing items outside their store earned them widespread sympathy.
KRTC said it contacted the couple and offered to take them to Zuoying, Kaohsiung Main and Formosa Boulevard stations yesterday to evaluate potential sites for a stall, in what the company described as a gesture of “friendship and support between Taiwan and Japan.”
Meanwhile, Chang Yen-ching (張硯卿), head of the Kaohsiung City Department of Administrative and International Affairs, said the city is also offering the couple a spot in the cafeteria of its administrative center.
Photo: Wang Rong-hsiang, Taipei Times
The Japanese-style rice ball shop in Gushan District (鼓山), operated by a 60-year-old Japanese man surnamed Higuchi and his Taiwanese wife, received support from the public after their landlord was caught on camera knocking over and smashing items in front of the store on Friday.
Higuchi’s wife, surnamed Chang (張), on Sunday told reporters that her husband was moved to tears by the community’s response to the incident, with crowds lining up to purchase rice balls and messages of encouragement flooding in on social media.
Chang said they are still searching for a new business location and are handling court proceedings related to the dispute, which she said had caused them emotional stress and disrupted their business.
The altercation involved the 62-year-old tenant Chang and the 59-year-old landlord, surnamed Shao (邵), who accused the shopkeeper of placing items in unauthorized areas and filed a theft-related complaint, the Kaohsiung Police Department said.
The police said the couple later filed a countersuit for property damage and said that a minor injury occurred when the landlord kicked a chair that struck Higuchi.
“Shao is suspected of having been emotionally agitated, pushing over tables, chairs, flowerpots and other items,” the police said.
On Monday, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Jie (黃捷) visited the store, later writing on Facebook that the shop represented the “sincerity of Taiwan-Japan friendship.”
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
The New Taipei City Government would assist relatives of those killed or injured in last month’s car-ramming incident in Sansia District (三峽) to secure compensation, Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) said yesterday, two days after the driver died in a hospital. “The city government will do its best to help the relatives of the car crash incident seek compensation,” Hou said. The mayor also said that the city’s Legal Affairs, Education and Social Welfare departments have established a joint mechanism to “provide coordinated assistance” to victims and their families. Three people were killed and 12 injured when a car plowed into schoolchildren and their
RSS