Kl Sentral Strips Long Standing Japanese Signs Cites Redevelopment

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Japanese text on KL Sentral’s signboards - a feature in place for over two decades - has been temporarily removed as part of redevelopment works, according to the station’s management.
A spokesperson told Malaysiakini that improvements are underway to enhance wayfinding at the transport hub, with updated plans to strengthen multilingual accessibility.
“Given that Japanese tourist traffic represents a very small segment of KL Sentral Station’s overall passenger base, the decision was made to streamline the signage to English and Bahasa Malaysia, which serve the vast majority of daily commuters and international visitors,” she said.
Malaysiakini contacted the management after being alerted by a long-term Japanese resident in Kuala Lumpur. Conversations about the removal have since surfaced on social media, with several questioning the justification for the move.
Some also shared photos of the now-covered Japanese wording on signboards at KL Sentral.
“Retaining the Japanese text and adding additional foreign languages is not practical due to spatial constraints on existing signboards, which could affect readability and potentially confuse users,” the spokesperson added.
Clearer user experience
According to her, the rethink was also driven by commuter feedback questioning the relevance of the Japanese text on the signs.
The management said the move towards a simplified bilingual layout was intended to create a clearer user experience.
“This is a temporary measure, as redevelopment and enhancement works for KL Sentral Station are planned.
“The future upgrades will include a comprehensive review of wayfinding design and multilingual accessibility to better serve passengers… once the new layout is implemented,” she added.
Legacy of the ‘Look East Policy’
The Japanese language text was installed in KL Sentral when former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s “Look East Policy” was in force, aimed at attracting investment and drawing lessons from East Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea.
Mahathir’s prime example and benchmark for excellence was Japan, and Malaysian students were even sent there on scholarships to learn the Japanese approach to work, economics, and technology.
In July 1981, when he became Malaysia’s prime minister, he introduced an initiative to draw lessons from Japan - and later South Korea - for Malaysia’s nation-building efforts. He believed that Japan’s success and rapid development stemmed from its work ethic, morale, and management culture.
KL Sentral - completed in 2000 and opened in 2001 - stands as a testament to this in part, having been designed and built in collaboration between the late renowned Japanese architect, Kisho Kurokawa and multi-disciplinary local firm PAB Architecture Sdn Bhd.
Kisho KurokawaCollaboration
PAB’s design director, David Teoh, told Malaysiakini that the firm worked in collaboration with Kurokawa on both the masterplan and the overall construction of KL Sentral.
“As town planners, we provided technical advice to the Kisho Kurokawa Architect & Associates (KKA) team, performed the professional services of coordinating all compliance matters and submitted the masterplan for planning approvals from the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).
“For the station building, KKA did the concept design while we were the executive architects to obtain building approvals, prepared design development drawings and documentation, prepared contract drawings and documentation, and administered the construction contract to completion and obtained the certificate of fitness for occupation for our clients,” Teoh explained.
David TeohKurokawa also played a significant role in the design of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA), which was done in collaboration with Arkitek Jururancang Malaysia (AJM).
Some believe that the language attribution at KL Sentral was, therefore, an ode of recognition to Kurokawa’s architectural genius.
In most cases, buildings do not feature explicit tributes to their architects, as attribution is typically confined to plaques, project documentation, or professional publications.
However, some landmark structures do incorporate symbolic or cultural elements that echo the identity or heritage of their designers, particularly when the architects are internationally renowned or when the project bears a strong thematic or cross-cultural dimension. - Mkini

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