In 2015, the United States finally normalized relations with post-revolution Cuba. Japan, however, has never severed ties with the Caribbean country, and has always enjoyed a warm friendship with it. Part of the reason for this friendship is Kenji Takeuchi.
On the travel special, "Cuba ga Aishita Nihonjin" ("The Japanese Person Who Loved Cuba"; Nippon TV, Sun., 3 p.m.), actor Osamu Mukai goes to Cuba to find out about Takeuchi, who stopped over in Havana in 1931 on his way to study in America and never left. A horticulturist, Takeuchi developed the island's flower industry and went on to build a number of successful agricultural villages dedicated to producing vegetables.
Mukai discovers that while Takeuchi is virtually unknown in Japan, he is considered a great man in Cuba, an immigrant who had a big influence on Cuban history. He has been effusively praised by former president Fidel Castro.
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