To expand the channels for promoting Taiwanese books in Japan, the Taiwan Cultural Center in Tokyo has organized the "Taiwan Book Fair" from Oct. 15 to the end of November, connecting 20 independent bookstores in Tokyo, Chiba, Kanagawa, Nagano, Aichi, Wakayama, Kyoto, Osaka, Hyogo, Kagawa, Tottori, and Fukuoka, among others.
The Taiwan Culture Center pointed out that according to Japanese market surveys, Japanese people still prefer to read paper books. Since book lovers do not usually have access to high-quality books from Taiwan when visiting bookstores, the center hopes that the "Taiwan Book Fair," set up in 20 bookstores across the country, will provide more opportunities for Japanese readers to access Taiwanese books.
The book fair specially invited participating bookstores to serve as "Taiwan book salesmen," with each bookstore clerk instructed to write a special article to recommend one Taiwanese book. The book fair then produced a booklet of articles by 20 bookstores as a guide for book buyers.
Takefumi Ishibashi (石橋毅史), who won the Eslite Bookstor’s top award, was also invited to write a special article introducing Taiwanese bookstores. Through the recommendation of local bookstore staffs and writers, he hopes to foster interest and encourage Japanese book lovers to read translated books from Taiwan.
In addition to the book fair, the event also invited the Taiwanese artist Chou Yi (周依), who cooperated with the renowned Japanese department store LUMINE, to design the main visual, as well as produce bookmarks, posters, stickers, tote bags, and T-shirts, among others as gifts for readers who purchase Taiwanese books in support of Taiwan.
For more details, please visit the event's official webpage.