Building on the success of their inaugural collaboration last year, the Taiwan Cultural Center in Japan has once again teamed up with Books Kinokuniya, one of Japan's largest bookstore chains. This year, the “Taiwan Book Fair” will be held at over 33 Books Kinokuniya locations throughout Japan, running from late August to October. The official opening ceremony took place on Sept. 6 at the Kinokuniya Shinjuku Main Store.
The opening of this year's book fair was attended by Representative to Japan Frank Hsieh (謝長廷), Chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council Keiji Furuya (古屋圭司), Deputy Chairman of the Liberal Democratic Party Takashi Fujiwara (藤原崇眾), Chairman of Kinokuniya Masashi Takai (高井昌史), and other distinguished guests.
In his opening speech, Hsieh expressed gratitude to Masashi Takai, Keiji Furuya, and Takashi Fujiwara for their support in bringing the book fair to fruition. He highlighted the remarkable growth of the exhibition, which has expanded from six Kinokuniya branches last year to 33 branches this year. He believes that the relationship between the two countries will continue to strengthen through cultural exchanges.
The Taiwan Cultural Center in Japan emphasized that bookstores serve as hubs of culture, and it is through the suggestions of bookstore staff that readers are occasionally introduced to unexpected books. Therefore, this year's "Taiwan Book Recommendation Booklet" (おすすめ台湾本), produced in collaboration with Kinokuniya, will feature recommendations written by bookstore staff and publishers. The booklet will introduce readers to interesting books related to Taiwan, including those by Taiwanese authors, books featuring Taiwan as the setting, books related to Taiwan, as well as those published in Taiwan. The booklet showcases a collection of 50 books published between 2022 and 2023 and it is available at the book fair.
For more information about the book fair and the digital version of the "Taiwan Book Recommendation Booklet," please visit Kinokuniya’s website at https://store.kinokuniya.co.jp/event/taiwan-books-recommendation2023/.