Thailand is one of the Southeast Asian countries that many Japanese people can picture quite clearly.
Temples in Bangkok, tuk-tuks, street food, southern islands, and beaches.
If someone says they are going to Thailand, many Japanese people can probably imagine scenes like these right away.
Food is another major reason Thailand feels familiar in Japan.
Tom yum goong, gapao rice, pad thai, green curry, khao man gai.
Even people who could not explain much about Thailand itself may still be able to name several Thai dishes.
In Japan, Thai food is no longer something found only in specialist restaurants. Thai-style products also appear in supermarkets and convenience stores.
You may not know a country in detail, yet still know several of its dishes by name.
Thailand has that kind of familiarity in Japan.
Some Japanese people also came to know Thailand through sport, especially combat sports.
Muay Thai is the obvious starting point.
But in Japan, the connection goes beyond simply knowing the name of the sport. Many fans have watched Thai fighters on television again and again.
In K-1, Buakaw was one of the biggest names.
He won the K-1 WORLD MAX tournaments in 2004 and 2006 and fought well-known competitors such as Masato, Takayuki Kohiruimaki, Yoshihiro Sato, and Andy Souwer.
For people who followed K-1, Buakaw was not merely “a strong fighter from Thailand.” He was one of the defining fighters of that era.
Japanese boxing fans also remember several Thai champions because they appeared in major fights against popular Japanese boxers.
Veeraphol Sahaprom took the world title from Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and defeated him again in their rematch.
Pongsaklek Wonjongkam knocked out Daisuke Naito in 34 seconds in their first fight and later faced him several more times in world-title bouts.
For Japanese viewers, there were many important fights in which the opponent standing across from a popular Japanese boxer was Thai.
That repeated experience helped build the image of Thailand as a country with exceptionally strong fighters.
Thailand also feels close to Japan for reasons that have nothing to do with tourism, food, or sport.
Large numbers of Japanese companies have operated there for many years, especially in manufacturing and the automobile industry.
So some Japanese people know Thailand because they traveled there on business, had colleagues posted to Bangkok, or worked with Thai clients and factories.
Thailand is also home to one of the larger Japanese communities overseas.
That gives the country a different kind of familiarity.
A Japanese person may first know Thailand as a holiday destination, then encounter it again through food, sport, work, or people they know.
Little by little, it becomes less of an image of a tropical foreign country and more of a real place connected to everyday life.
For Japanese people, Thailand is not simply a foreign country viewed from afar. It is a country they have encountered through travel, food, work, and even the athletes they have watched on Japanese television.
References
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, “Kingdom of Thailand” and Japan–Thailand relations
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, statistics on Japanese nationals living overseas
- JETRO, surveys on Japanese companies operating in Thailand
- Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan, materials on Thai food
- Tourism Authority of Thailand
- K-1 official profile and records for Buakaw Banchamek
- Materials related to Joichiro Tatsuyoshi and Veeraphol Sahaprom
- TBS profile and match materials for Pongsaklek Wonjongkam
