COMPLETION REPORT
Re-imagining Taiwan within East Asia: the JAA Inflight Magazine "Asia Echo"(1976-2008)
Dr. Chien-Yuan Chen
Assistant Professor
Dept. of Chinese Literature
Chunghsing University
This proposed research focuses on the company history of Japan Asia Airways and its inflight airline magazine,Asia Echo. Asia Echo that possesses its independent editing and interview team is such a rare case and thus worthy
a detailed research on its topic choice, contents and touristic promotions. Unlike other inflight magazines that cover
diverse regions and all routes around the world, Asia Echo concentrates almost exclusively on single JapanTaiwan route for 33 years since January 1976. The Asia Echo editing team cooperated with the state tourism
bureau, Airlines, Cultural Exchange Association and local governments to decide in advance the core themes oftourism promotions. In each issue, one main theme including one particular Japanese and Taiwanese site waschosen and then completed by the Asia Echo editing team. Therefore, it is extremely necessary for the researchers
to conduct documental analysis on the varied topics of Asia Echo.
In the first half of the research period, the author has contacted several possible libraries and institutes to inquiry
about their collection of Asia Echo. However, after one year communicating and cooperating with Japan Airline
and other possible resources, this researcher is still incapable to have access to the complete collection of backissues of Asia Echo. Due to JAA’s merge to Japan Airline in 2008, the Taipei branch no longer holds all Asiacollection. In order to collect other back issues no longer held by the company, this researcher has conducted aresearch trip to Tokyo during the period of July 23-27, 2017, and obtained the additional 11 copies of back issues
from the National Diet Library (Japan). During the research period, this researcher has collected 226 back issues ofAsia Echo collected from both the Taipei branch of Japan Airline, the National diet library (JAPAN) , there is still
11 back issues missing. During the time staying in Tokyo, the author also collected the company history of JAA
and the news report concerning on JAA’s history. Also, taking advantage of the resourceful Japanese database
relevant to Japan Asia Airways, this researcher has discovered several topics intriguing and worthy for furtherresearch, including the Chinese/Taiwanese food in Japanese promotions, the Taiwan trips of Manga writers(Cartoonists) and the 7-time changing uniforms of JAA flight attendants.

In the second half of the research period, this author has digitalized the back issues that already collected from
Tokyo and Taiwan. Thanks to the digitalized files, the author is capable to trace the transformation of the JAA’s
idea of Taiwanese culture as well as the Japan-Taiwan relationship. The special themes in the magazine reveals theboth major and subtle policy change of government and the airline company. For example, the special issues of“JAA 30 year” has recorded varied designs of the JAA uniforms of female flight attendants. The first version ofuniform, the China dress style, was designed to promote the images of the JAA that bridges Japan and theRepublic of China (ROC). The following uniform design changes in the back issues also reveal the JAA’s strong
motivation to promote the company as the international airline that used to promoted itself as the Japan-Taiwan
exclusive, or the regional (East Asia).
Therefore, this author focuses on the research of changing uniform styles of the JAA flight attendants. The researchconcerning on JAA’s 7-time changing uniforms is completed and soon to be published by the University Press ofNational Chung Hsing University this coming autumn, entitled as “New Uniform of Asia: JAA’s Changing
Uniform Designs and the Imaginaries of Taiwan and the South.” In this article, this author argues the Japaneseimaginaries about the south as well as Taiwan continues to function in postwar Taiwan and help to construct theTaiwan’s touristic images. From China dress style to the southern orchid design on the JAA uniforms, changinguniform styles of JAA flight attendants indeed reflect the major transformations of JAA’s promotion strategies andthe company’s intentions behind. Its changing uniforms also indicate JAA’s ambitions to bring the airline
company to fly outside Taiwan as well as East Asia, and to transcend from a regional airline into an international
carrier. The tendency can be seen from its last uniform change lays no emphasis on either the South nor on Taiwan
anymore but concentrates exclusively on its international-ness.

Publication of the Results of Research Project:
Verbal Presentation (Date, Venue, Name of Conference, Title of Presentation, Presenter, etc.)
N/A
Thesis (Name of Journal and its Date, Title and Author of Thesis, etc.)
CHEN, CHIENYUAN. 2018. New Uniform of Asia: JAA’s Changing Uniform Design and the Imaginaries of
Taiwan and the South. In Refocusing on Photos and Images of East Asia, Taichung：University Press of
University of National Chung Hsing University. (accepted, written in Chinese)Book (Publisher and Date of the Book, Title and Author of the Book, etc.)
N/A