Yes, I’m taking a break from all the move-related stuff to talk about something that isn’t getting much attention: Japan’s wave of anti-nuclear protest music. Basically, in the months since the earthquake there’s been a pretty decent movement of protest songs, but they aren’t really getting much play because the radio stations and record companies are avoiding them. My favorite is the following, by Kazuyoshi Saito. He took one of his own songs, called ずっと好きだった and rewrote the lyrics as ずっとうそだった (it was always a lie). And then got in trouble with his record company for releasing a video of it on the internet. But once you’ve put it out there, there’s no way to take it back (the internet is basically Pandora’s Box), so it’s still easy to find. Like right here. I’ve translated it to the best of my abilities, more for curiosity’s sake than anything else. I just think it’s fascinating.
“If you walk around this country, there are 54 nuclear power plants
Textbooks and commercials were always telling us “it’s safe”
They cheated us and now their excuse is “it was beyond expectations”
I miss that sky, ticklish black rain
It was always a lie
It’s all coming out
It really was always a lie
That nuclear plants are safe
It was always a lie
I want to eat spinach
It really was always a lie
You knew it would happen
We cannot stop the pollution in the air
How many will be exposed to the radiation before the government realizes?
Did those who escaped from this town find good water?
Please tell me
No, I don’t want to know anymore
Because now there is nowhere we can escape to
It was always shit
Toden, Hokuden, Chuden, Kyuden*
Though I wouldn’t continue dreaming anymore
It was always shit
But they still want to continue
It really was always shit
This feeling that I want to act
It was always shit
It really was always shit”
*Toden is Tokyo Electric Power Company, Hokuden is Hokkaido Electric Power Company, Chuden is Chubu Electric Power Company, and Kyuden is Kyushu Electric Power Company. If you aren’t sure, Toden is TEPCO. It’s just that Toden abbreviates the Japanese while TEPCO abbreviates the English (den is short for denryoku – electric power).
I hope this was of some interest to someone. If nothing else, it was good Japanese practice for me and that’s always a plus.
