SMAP Concert in Beijing: Thanks, China!
Japanese pop group SMAP visited Beijing the other day, putting on a concert to thank China for all the aid they sent after the March 11th earthquake and tsunami:
Here is a quotation from a Xinhua article about the event. The Chinese state press seems to be taking a very positive view:
The Japanese idol group has been active for nearly 20 years after the release of their first CD in 1991, and are among the most famous Japanese artists in China.
Under the theme “Come on, Japan. Thank you, China. Asia is a united home,” the performance is an expression of gratitude for China’s assistance after the 9.0-magnitude earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit Japan on March 11, according to Kimura Takuya, a SMAP member.
“Thank you, China. Thank you all for offering hands in the Japan earthquake that occurred on March 11,” Kimura Takuya said during the performance, standing still on the stage amid wafting music with video clips of the disaster appearing on a giant screen.
SMAP originally planned to hold a concert in China in late 2010, but they were forced to cancel after a wave of anti-Japanese hate swept over the country following the arrest of a Chinese trawler captain who rammed two Japanese coast guard patrol boats. It’s great that the situation has improved enough to allow this concert to take place.
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