People :
Winner of Thai Literary Award for Non-fiction about Japan
Mr. Tiptiempong Kosit

Mr. Tiptiempong Kosit Born in Bangkok, 1978. Came to Waseda in 1998 and spent a year in the School of International Studies as an exchange student from Chulalongkom University. After graduation, took courses in the Graduate School of Economics and gained a Master's degree in the Graduate School of Commerce. At present in the second year of the International Relations PhD course at the Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies. His supervisor is Prof. Eiji Murashima.

The publication's cover

“The news of the award came as a huge surprise and the first thing I did was phone my mother, ” said Tiptiempong. In July his book Japan from Various Perspectives won the Special Prize for Non-fiction in the Naiin Literature Awards sponsored by Thai publisher Amalin. The idea of writing his personal view of Japanese culture came to him soon after his first arrival in Japan. “I wanted to let Thai people know that their image of Japanese people and culture are out of date, stereotyped, and incorrect.” Tiptiempong started to write his book last summer. He recalled the experiences of his four and a half years in Japan, and told people about the real Japan that he saw in his daily life.

Although he has always been good at giving speeches and expressing his thoughts, he was not certain that his first attempt at writing would be a success. “But my close friends were not surprised by the prize. They knew that I was used to giving speeches, so they thought this book was just a continuation of that. Recently a friend told me that my book was ranked No. 3 in the Kinokuniya bookstore in Bangkok. I was delighted to hear that, not because it was selling well, but because I feel that many people will get a more correct image of Japan through my book,” he said with an engaging smile.

Tiptiempong spent his high school days in the US. He worked in a Swiss Bank after graduating from university, and finally chose Japan for his further studies, because “Japanese and Thai people are very alike in some respects. For example, the Japanese expression for “Please make yourself at home” has a direct equivalent in the Thai language. I think both countries have a similar approach to consideration for other people.”

His dream is to become a diplomat and work in many different countries. “In Thailand, as in Japan, the civil service exam is very difficult, but I hope to attain my goals one step at a time,” he said with earnest modesty.