Japan Today
Date: May 6, 2018
By Ko Shu-ling 

TAIPEIIn February, the Tainan city government released a documentary film titled “Tainan Stories” about Japanese who lived in Taiwan during its 50-year colonial rule and who were repatriated to Japan after World War II. The film was also screened in Osaka in April.

Over 300,000 eventually returned to Japan in the years following 1945. An estimated 80,000 who were born in Taiwan during the occupation became known as “wansheng” (Taiwan-born), or “wansei” in Japanese.

“As time passes and wansheng numbers decline, we’re afraid they will one day be forgotten,” said Lin Chien-hsien, deputy head of the city’s Department of Information and International Relations.

Lin also hopes the film will attract visitors interested in Japanese island history — and not just visitors from Japan. The plight of the wansheng has long attracted attention from Taiwanese artists, writers, and particularly filmmakers.
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