According to the calculation of the Ministry of the Interior National Immigration Agency, there are in total over millions of new immigrants in Taiwan by the end of October in 2021. No matter the new immigrants come to Taiwan for studying, working, or marriage. Taiwan’s multi-culture has added a more splendid chapter with their striving experiences. The world can re-discover Taiwan from a different perspective. These excellent new immigrants have become great models for Taiwan’s international popularity and become the Outstanding immigrants in Taiwan.
【Taiwan Immigrant’s Global News network】launches the unit of “‘New’ Glory of Taiwan.” We interviewed a few beloved new immigrants for our readers. With their excellent accomplishments, Taiwan could exert our visibility and influence with our wonderful stories on the international platform.
Outstanding immigrants in Taiwan - Kinoshita Junichi (Japan)
A new immigrant from Aichi-ken, Japan, has now lived in Taiwan for 40 years. After Kinoshita Junichi graduated from Tokyo Keizai University, he came to Taiwan for travel and fell in love with this place ever since. For a short while, he returned to Japan for work. It was six years later that he went back to Taiwan. In the blink of an eye, he has been in Taiwan for 40 years. It doesn’t seem like a big number; however, it is two-thirds of Kinoshita’s life who is sixty-year-old this year.
Kinoshita Junichi was once a Japanese teacher and an editor-in-chief of 《Travel in Taiwan》Magazine for 8 years. In the 1990s, his journals attracted many Japanese readers’ attention to Taiwan. It opened up the travel trend of traveling in Taiwan for the Japanese. Kinoshita has become the most powerful driving force for Japanese tourists to travel in Taiwan through the charisma of his words.
The experience as an editor-in-chief has fulfilled Kinoshita Junichi’s dream as a writer. In 2011, he received the gold medal from the 11th Taipei Literature Award for his work, 《The Seeds of Dandelion》 which was written in Chinese. He was also the first foreigner to receive the award. Kinoshita continued his writing in Taiwan. Not only did he write columns for newspapers and magazines, but also published his Chinese essays and novels, such as 《Writing Down My Days in Taiwan》and《Shadows in Memories》. His essay was selected as a reading material for fifth graders in textbooks for Taiwan’s elementary schools.
In March 2011, Japan was stricken by the Great East Earthquake that shocked the world. In that time, Taiwan generously donated to help the hardest-hit regions. As a new immigrant living in Taiwan who is from Japan, Kinoshita Junichi was deeply touched. Therefore, he spent four years writing down his interviews on Taiwanese people’s enthusiasm as a novel. Then he published 《アリガトThank You》to spread Taiwan’s good deeds toward Japanese people.
Kinoshita Junichi also gave speeches in Japan and told everyone about Taiwan’s impartial deeds. Everyone in the audience cried when they heard about it and shouted Taiwan-Japan ties. At that time, this book’s selling rank was higher than Japan’s well-known writer, Murakami Haruki’s latest book. It attracted Japan’s biggest television network, NHK to interview me in Taiwan especially. Through 《アリガトThank You》, Japanese people have the chance to re-recognize Taiwan’s friendliness and selfless dedication. During those years, Japanese people took action to pay their gratitude for Taiwan and created the highest number of Japanese tourists in Taiwan.
Besides writing, Kinoshita Junichi runs a YouTube Channel called Super G. He would introduce the cultural differences between Taiwan and Japan as an immigrant who has lived in Taiwan for 40 years. The channel has been fonded by many audiences with its humorous content. In 2021, Super G received an official confirmation that it was selected as 2021’s rising star by YouTube. YouTube would put Super G on the homepage spotlight worldwide on a fixed day every week.
Through the power of words and YouTube videos, Kinoshita Junichi can let Japanese people, readers, and audiences around the world re-recognize Taiwan once again in a more profound way.
