Aki Uehara, 45 and Oto Furukawa, 51, self-anointed ambassadors of Malaysia, write about the country’s food, culture, entertainment and travel destinations.
When contacted by Bernama, Aki, who speaks fluent Malay, said she and Oto have authored over 100 articles about Malaysia.
Aki lived in Malaysia while studying for her master’s degree in ethnomusicology at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) in Penang. Upon returning to Japan in 2008, she realised there was a scarcity of books and articles about Malaysia in Japanese.
“So, my friend, Oto, who loves Malaysian food, and I decided to write about Malaysia,” she said, adding that the articles were initially published in a concise four-sheet newspaper back in Japan, and later a magazine, both issued on a quarterly basis.
“We used to distribute these newspapers and magazines to people in Malaysian restaurants, the Malaysian Embassy, and the Malaysian Tourism Office in Tokyo, as well as selected bookstores. But in 2022, we decided to publish all our Malaysia-related articles in an online portal,” she said.
Elaborating on how they sourced material for their articles, Aki, who works as an interpreter, said once they had decided on what to cover, they conducted detailed interviews with their sources.
“We prioritise first-hand sources in our writing. At least once a year, we travel to Malaysia to conduct research and interview various individuals for our articles,” Aki said, adding that during the pandemic, they conducted their interviews over Zoom instead.
“Likewise, here whenever events are held at the Malaysian Embassy or any Malaysia-related gatherings such as the International Film Festival, I source for material that can be written.”
Aki said her fascination with Malaysian culture took root during a year-long student exchange programme when she was placed in Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Bukit Goh in Kuantan, Pahang.
During her stay there, she lived with a foster family from a Felda settlement, who only spoke Malay. She said this played a key role in her gradual and informal understanding of the language.
“After completing my degree in Tokyo, I returned to Malaysia to enrol in an intensive Malay language course at USM because although I spoke fluent Malay, I struggled with reading, so I wanted to master both.
“But my journey didn’t end there, and I pursued a master’s degree at USM,” she said.
Meanwhile, Oto had lived in Malaysia for four years, almost 20 years ago. For her, the wide variety of food here made her fall head over heels in love with the country.
“Malaysian cuisine is composed of many different types of dishes, such as satay (Malay), chicken rice (Chinese), and curry (Indian), which are deeply related to the roots of each ethnic group.
“In other words, the rich variety of cuisine is the very essence of Malaysia’s multi-ethnic society. So, I decided to share Malaysian cuisine with the people of Japan as a symbol of diversity,” she said.
Aki and Oto’s articles on Malaysia can be accessed in a Japanese-language portal here.