The College of Management at National Chung Cheng University (CCU) brought its Alishan Tsou Tribe Cultural and Industrial Sustainability Talent Development Project to Japan on November 13, 2025, to participate in the 20th Tohoku Products Exhibition (Tohoku Business Matching 2025)—a major industrial and trade fair. This marked the first time that the culture and coffee industry of the Alishan Tsou Tribe were officially presented on the international stage.
Hosted by the Tohoku New Business Conference (TNB), the exhibition is one of the most influential annual business events in Japan’s Tohoku region. In 2025, it attracted over 300 exhibitors and 6,000 visitors, serving as a vital platform for regional industrial collaboration and international trade.
This cross-border collaboration was made possible through the efforts of Professor Toshifumi Takada, a senior Japanese faculty member at CCU’s College of Management. Professor Takada had long been dedicated to supporting the development of Alishan’s tribal industries, frequently leading Japanese scholars and partners on field visits to villages such as Tfuya and Dabang. Through his continued efforts, TNB not only signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with CCU but also provided a complimentary exhibition booth to support the university’s USR participation—symbolizing a key milestone in Taiwan–Japan regional revitalization and cultural-industrial cooperation.
At the event, several Japanese companies expressed strong interest in Alishan tribal coffee, leading to multiple business matchmaking sessions. The booth also drew visits from professors of Tohoku University, Tokyo International University, Fukushima University, Meikai University, and Miyagi Gakuin Women’s University, as well as senior executives from major corporations such as IRIS OHYAMA and EY Japan. These interactions laid a solid foundation for the international expansion of CCU’s Alishan Tsou Tribe project.
During the exhibition, the CCU team presented specialty coffees from Alishan smallholder brands—including Tafuya, Ilsa, and Hunter’s Book Café—featuring diverse processing methods. Two USR student ambassadors, Yu-Wen Tseng and Yi-Ni Liao, personally brewed pour-over coffee for attendees, offering tastes of beans grown at elevations of 1,000 to 1,300 meters. The rich aroma and layered flavors amazed Japanese visitors, many of whom marveled that they never knew the Indigenous people of Alishan produced world-class specialty coffee.
USR Ambassador Yu-Wen Tseng shared that the event was more than just a product showcase; it was a chance to tell the story of Alishan’s tribal culture. She noted that many Japanese visitors were hearing about the “Tsou Tribe” for the first time and that witnessing their curiosity and emotional response was an unforgettable experience.
Both student ambassadors had previously taken the course “Local Terroir and Humanities,” which was taught by tribal youth. They learned about specialty coffee flavors, origins, and brewing techniques, applying their knowledge directly at this exhibition—embodying the spirit of USR education that integrated learning, practice, and internationalization.
Dean Ya-Hui Lien of CCU’s College of Management remarked that the showcase of Alishan coffee represented more than an exhibition; it was a tangible realization of the USR mission. Through experiential learning on the global stage, students connected local industries, cultural values, and sustainability, demonstrating CCU’s strength in regional revitalization and global collaboration.
Led by the College of Management, the Alishan Tsou Tribe Cultural and Industrial Sustainability Talent Development Project integrated tribal industries, youth empowerment, and sustainability education. By promoting knowledge translation, brand marketing, and international cooperation, the project continued to highlight the core USR vision of “Starting from the Local, Reaching the Global.” The aroma of Alishan coffee and the spirit of Tsou culture would continue to resonate across borders.