In 1964, nearly a decade before the Okinawa islands reverted to Japanese rule, there were no TV broadcasts on Yonagunijima, one of the subtropical islands then under U.S. administration following World War II.

Residents of Japan’s westernmost inhabited island who wanted to watch that year’s Tokyo Olympics did what resourceful people do: they improvised. They erected antennas more than 10 meters high, aimed toward Taiwan, about 110 kilometers away.

From there, they pulled in local Taiwanese broadcasts. I came across this remarkable episode while gathering material for a story on the island.

Every night, neighbors crowded in front of an electric appliance shop that had a TV set, staying until late.

Children, it is said, picked up phrases from Taiwanese broadcasts and began imitating Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), then Taiwan’s president,........

© The Asahi Shimbun