TAIPEI — He understands only English but hails from Japan, where his kind is reared and trained for deployment overseas.

A white Labrador, Hope is part of a wave of elite Japanese canines that is transforming Taiwan from an island once known for putting dogs on menus to one that increasingly uses them to lead its blind and patrol its airports.

Nowhere is this shift more apparent than at the Taiwan Guide Dog Association, which is at the forefront of channeling Japanese guide dogs onto the island.