Sayaka Chatani

Legislators' Office Building

I used to work as an assistant to a Japanese legislator back in my undergraduate years. Currently my office is not in the Legislators' Office Building, but I sometimes had a chance to visit my boss's office there. I was surprised at how similar the two Legislators' Offices of Japan and Taiwan are. The building itself and security guards are of course very different (The Japanese one is more solemn), but the atmospheres and structures inside the buildings are very similar. Both of them have a huge but cheap restaurant, an old-style barber, and some strange souvenior shops, selling strange things and jewelry. I always wondered how many people would buy expensive jewelry at the Legislators Office of Japan, but it was similar in Taiwan (and my co-worker actually bought something there).