Japanese flute sweetheart takes on role as goodwill ambassador to southern Taiwan city

Flutist Suai Takahashi took second place in 2018 Miss World Japan

By Huang Tzu-ti, Taiwan News, Staff Writer  2019/10/04 17:43

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Suai Takahashi, Japanese flutist and runner-up in the 2018 Miss World Japan pageant, has been appointed the goodwill ambassador to the southern Taiwan city of Tainan.

A ceremony marking the appointment was held by the Tainan City Government on Friday (Oct. 4), during which the musician played a song titled “Bright Future” to celebrate the cooperation between Taiwan and Japan. This is the first time Takahashi has assumed the role of goodwill ambassador to a foreign country, reported CNA.

According to the celebrity, Tainan has left a deep impression on her. Takahashi described the city as charming, its people as kind and hospitable, and its foods as awesome — especially its high-quality agricultural produce and delectable mangoes, she added.

The recruitment of Takahashi is expected to boost tourism in the municipality, which relies heavily on revenues from the travel industry, said Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲). While the new spokesperson will help introduce Tainan’s charms to Japan, the partnership is also aimed at fostering closer ties between the two countries, wrote CNA.

This is not the first time Taiwan has favored Japanese artists as tourism ambassadors. In 2018, the Tourism Bureau hired Japanese actress Masami Nagasawa as a tourism spokesperson for the second consecutive year.

Suai Takahashi (Facebook photo)

https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/news/3790655