She may not be a familiar face in the media, but Sachiyo Nakagaki's voice has been instrumental in showcasing Singapore to Japan.

The singer-songwriter, who sings in English, Japanese as well as Chinese and Malay since 2000, has been acting as a musical ambassador when she performs during cultural exchange events organised by the Singapore Tourism Board and other Singaporean organisations.

Sachiyo, who is born to Japanese parents but bred in Singapore, understands first-hand the cultural divide between these two countries even in the simplest forms of communication.

Having spent her youth in Singapore, Sachiko would find herself a fish out of water when speaking to her Japanese friends.

She said: "I had some difficulties striking a balance between these two countries' cultural differences in my school days. Japanese friends thought I was too straightforward and aggressive, since I was used to the Singaporean way of speaking. That often caused communication problems, and I had to adopt Japanese patterns of thinking and feeling, which valued ambiguity in expression.

"On the other hand, since I was attracted to Japanese traits, which stressed politeness, sensitivity and preciseness, I needed to re-adopt a Singaporean style when I spoke to my Singaporean friends. Now I'm comfortable with both types of thinking."

Her musical style is as diverse as the languages she sings in. Influences range from jazz and bossa nova, to pop and ethnic styles, which Sachiyo learned in her childhood.

She also hosted a radio programme called "Rojak Rojak" to introduce Singaporean culture, music, fashion, food and lifestyle to a Japanese audience. The programme was broadcast from July 2006 to October 2007.

Ask her why she decided to take on such a challenging task of singing in multiple languages, and she says: "I don't know exactly why I mix up four languages! Why do Singaporeans speak Singlish? It's the natural thing to do, right? Maybe it's the same for me.

"I didn't learn four languages intentionally. Japanese is my mother-tongue, while I picked up English during the course of speaking to Singaporeans, while I picked up Malay and Chinese words from daily conversations, althougn I learnt traditional Malay songs when I was in the Japanese School Singapore."

However, she takes her role as a cultural ambassador very seriously, even though she never thought she would take on such responsibility in the beginning.

She said: "I didn't intentionally want to be an ambassador. I just wanted to be a good singer & songwriter, but STB (Singapore Tourism Board) and local organizations appointed me to appear at several kinds of cultural exchange events between Singapore and Japan. Then I realized it was rewarding for me to share my unique experience."

Come next week, she will be introducing a Singaporean audience to the intricacies of Japanese culture, at Singapore's first authentic Japanese Mid-Autumn Festival, the Central GO JAPAN Matsuri Festival.

Sachiyo Nakagaki will perform 'live' at Central on Oct 19, from 8pm - 9pm.