FUKUOKA - In downtown Kikuyo, a once sleepy farming community in southern Japan, locals complain of problems common in the modern world, but rare in Japan.
Rents and wages are soaring, traffic is a nightmare and schools are overcrowded. It’s almost impossible to find an empty apartment, even as high-rise condominiums sprout next to fields of lotus roots.
The US-China technology wars, in which the former is trying to cut its reliance on the latter in some vital industrial supply chains, is quickly transforming Kikuyo, on the island of Kyushu, as global giant Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company builds a huge factory on a hillside overlooking the town.
While most welcome the investment, the influx of Taiwanese workers is fast changing Kikuyo’s 44,000-strong community. The local supermarket now has an aisle dedicated to Chinese noodles and other products favoured by the newcomers.
“Normally, a factory of that scale would take five years to build, but it has taken two years. We are trying to catch up,” Kikuyo mayor Takatoshi Yoshimoto says during an interview in his office, where the flags of Taiwan and Japan stand side by side in a corner.
“Citizens are concerned about the traffic, labour shortages and potential friction with different cultures,” he adds, referring to the 750 Taiwanese workers and their families who are expected to be moving into town in the next year. ...continue reading
