Cyndi Lauper had her last concert in Japan.
I remember ‘She Bop’ from 1984. I was just a freshman in high school. Japan back in the day, before the internet was around. I was really surprised to find a woman who was so expressive – she really stood out to me.
She’s one of the most admired singers in Japan, and it’s really easy to see why. She showed such courage and compassion in the wake of the 2011 earthquake, and I just know she’ll do the same for you. Most artists left Japan, but she chose to stay and sing in Japanese at a time when we were really struggling.
At her last concert in Japan, she spoke to her fans using a translator. This doesn’t happen very often because it takes a long time to talk to someone and it can ruin the vibe.
Most Europeans find it hard to imagine that Japanese people cannot listen to English. According to the EF English Proficiency Index, Japan is 92nd, while the Netherlands is top of the list.
Japanese study English at school for between three and eight years. Actually, Japanese government started teach English at school in the late 19th centry. But English education is one of the worst investment in Japan. most Japanese still cannot speak English.
I must admit that when I went to an international conference as a representative of Japan in 1989, I couldn’t even order a pizza at Princeton University. I passed one of the most difficult entrance exams to university, but English textbooks didn’t teach how to change toppings, like adding half pepperoni and half BBQ bacon cheese.
Why are Japanese not good at English? First because Japanese are far from English. According to FSI, Japanese is one of the most difficult language (category V). Childrens are busy memorizing more than 2,000 Chinese characters. One Chinese character has plural sounds.
Second, Japan is surrounded by sea. Its sea areas cover 4,470K square kilometres.EU is 4,233K square kilometeres. While Japan has only one country in the area, EU has 27. While Europeans have many chances to speak and listen English, Japanese don’t
Third because higher education can be done in Japanese. University students should memorise more than 6,000 Chinese characters. But they could have a PhD even if they don’t speak English.
In the Netherlands, if someone doesn’t speak English, it’s likely they haven’t got a university degree. You will meet many smart people in Japan who don’t speak English.
So, if you want to have a great event in Japan, it’s a good idea to hire a Japanese translator.
