On June 29, a training session was held in Kikuyo Town, located in the central part of Kumamoto Prefecture, for town employees to learn about Taiwanese culture and hospitality from JAL flight attendants.
Currently, JASM (Japan Advanced Semiconductor Manufacturing), a subsidiary of TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company), a major Taiwanese semiconductor manufacturer, is constructing a new plant in Kikuyo Town, and the population is expected to increase in the future.
The 90-minute workshop, held in the morning and afternoon, was conducted in Japanese with materials prepared by Mr. Chang. At the beginning of the session, he gave basic information about Taiwan, such as its area and population, and explained its long history, the Japanese colonial period, and the present. The climate is hotter and more humid than that of Japan, and when a typhoon is expected to make landfall, the government issues a “typhoon vacation” and all businesses and schools in Taiwan are closed. As representative examples of national holidays, he reported that the Spring Festival (Chinese New Year) from January 20 to January 29, which is a long period of time, and the Qing Ming Festival from April 4 to April 5, when people visit the graves of their ancestors and spend time with their families.
The language used is Chinese, which is characterized by the use of traditional characters with a large number of strokes when writing, but most people can also read simplified characters. However, he also explained that the pronunciation and meaning of some characters are unique to Taiwan; for example, potatoes are called “dirt beans” in China and “potatoes” in Taiwan.
As for Taiwan’s unique food menu, while there are foods that are familiar to many Japanese, such as lu lo han (roe rice), there are also a variety of dishes such as stinky tofu and zhou shuei (pig’s blood) soup that they would like visitors to try.
Many Taiwanese tourists visit Japan, with about 30% of them choosing Japan as their destination, and many of them enjoy Japanese food. Many people choose sushi and sashimi as their favorite dishes, but there are also a certain number of people in Taiwan who avoid raw fish, so it is advisable to confirm this point in advance when inviting people to a meal. In addition, it is not customary to eat horse meat dishes, such as Kumamoto’s famous horse sashimi, in Taiwan, so be careful. Also, since there is no such thing as an “appetizer” in Taiwan, it is advisable to inform the customer in advance that he or she will have to pay for the food.
In terms of communication, he first described the temperament of the Taiwanese people. While he noted that everyone has a different personality, he also mentioned “generous,” “loose with time,” “results-oriented,” “family-first,” and “cost-conscious” as keywords. When he introduced an amusing episode in which a number of people changed their real names to coincide with a discount campaign at a conveyor-belt sushi restaurant, which was reported locally as the “Salmon Rampage,” because of their emphasis on cost performance, the participants burst into laughter. Incidentally, it is said that in Taiwan, people can change their real names up to three times.
If Japanese is not understood when responding, it is better to use Chinese characters or simple English, and it is also important to confirm that the “hai” used by Taiwanese people is understood without placing too much trust in it. Also, the “huh? is often used by Taiwanese and may be offensive to Japanese, but in Japanese, “huh? Yes? In Japanese, however, it is the same thing as “eh?
The training session was also attended by Deputy Mayor Hiroaki Komaki, who said, “Since direct flights from Taiwan to Kumamoto will begin in September, the purpose of this training session was for town officials to take the initiative in first learning about the cultural differences between Japan and Taiwan so that we can better entertain visitors to Kumamoto. The purpose of this training was for the town staff to take the initiative and do this first. It was a very valuable experience for us to hear the real voices, or rather, the voices of those who have been there. I felt that it is necessary to provide opportunities for town residents in the future as well,” he said.
I felt that if I tried my best to communicate, Taiwanese people would understand me, so I wanted to actively communicate with them. I felt that if I tried my best to communicate, Taiwanese people would understand me. I also learned that it is taboo to do such things and that it is appreciated to do such things, so I would like to do more research on my own,” she said.
Mr. Chang, who was in charge of the lecturer this time, is a member of the “JAL Hometown Ambassador Global,” which was established with the aim of attracting inbound visitors to various parts of Japan and communicating the charm of the region to the rest of the world. When asked about his impressions, he said, “I was nervous at first, but I received good reactions to some interesting Taiwanese episodes, such as the ‘Salmon War. I was also grateful for the feedback that I should treat Taiwanese people without fear,” he said, looking relieved.
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