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With island disputes between China, Taiwan, Korea, and Japan so dominating the news recently, it’s nice to see something that puts a positive, optimistic spin on those relationships. Let alone one that does so by having Japanese salarymen strutting like robots around the streets of Tokyo and Seoul:
The group is World Order, a Japanese band formed by Genki Sudo, who also directed and produced the video (with choreography by Ryo Noguchi). Just the latest in a series of similar videos performed all around the world, Tofugu, a Japanese pop-culture site, describes them as “the most innovative dance and music troupe in Japan,” and adds that their appeal is not just their dancing, but also:
…the people watching them dance. They just go out in public areas for the most part, do their thing, and then leave. People walk by, look at them all confused, take video/pictures, ignore them completely, and all kinds of other hilarious things if you pay close enough attention. Try to watch and you’ll see some entertaining reactions.
See Tofugo for many examples. Meanwhile, the very cool cartoonist Jen Lee (of Dear Korea fame), whom I’m very grateful to for finding the video, has managed to find a rare translation of the lyrics too:
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A blue shine on my fingertips
As I touch the side of your pensive face
When I look up to the gray sky
A blue sky spreads out over the east sky
Keep changing
Permanent Revolution
Without stopping
Keep walking
Permanent Revolution
To a single world
Gather the accumulated lies
Keep erasing them among the pluses, without making a sound
Keep believing
Permanent Revolution
Without wavering
Keep loving
Permanent Revolution
Open your heart
Keep changing
Permanent Revolution
Without stopping
Keep walking
To a single world