Business: English Skills
ビジネスチャンスを活かす英語力UPのために
5月のB項を担当いたします、佐藤です。
今月は日韓のみならず世界にも羽ばたこうとしているNiziUについての記事を一部抜粋し、表現を解説します。
Amid the homebound anxiety of the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Japan seemed to take solace in one sonic solution: the NiziU hit, “Make You Happy.”
It was a year of firsts for the nine members of NiziU, too. Since forming out of “Nizi Project,” a reality TV competition that aired in the first half of 2020, the group has topped the Oricon charts, scored its first “exclusive desserts” at Lawson convenience stores and made its debut on Japan’s end-of-year music extravaganza “Kohaku Uta Gassen.”
“Every day is like a first experience,” NiziU member Maya Katsumura tells The Japan Times via email, adding that, despite such uncharted territory, “everyone supports each other more and more, which strengthens our teamwork.”
The strategy isn’t unique to JYP, either. Japanese boy band JO1 was formed from a TV show put on by the Korean entertainment company CJ ENM. JO1 brings an unmistakable K-pop aesthetic and sound to everything it does, while HYBE Labels — the new moniker adopted by Big Hit Entertainment, who is behind the most successful Asian pop group of all time, BTS — is also working on various acts “who will start in Japan and go on to perform on the world stage.”
After establishing K-pop as Asia’s dominant musical force, South Korean companies are increasingly looking to establish a greater foothold in the highly lucrative Japanese market.
NiziU reflected this development from the get-go. “Nizi Project” began airing on Hulu Japan in January of last year, with JYP’s YouTube channel sharing it internationally. Following a talent survival show template that is common in South Korea, the program saw hundreds of hopefuls attempt to debut in a new Japanese group.
“My head went blank for a moment and I couldn’t believe it,” Hillman recalls. “But after that, I just felt relief all through my body.”
JYP’s push proved a hit immediately. NiziU’s pre-debut single “Make You Happy” became one of last year’s defining J-pop hits, powered by a glee that was uncharacteristic of the mood in 2020. Then, there was that “jump-rope dance,” a clever bit of playground-inspired choreography that was perfectly suited to the short-form video platform TikTok (a space NiziU continues to thrive in — “Take a Picture” adds samples of cameras snapping, an audio cue for TikTokers to play off of). These factors helped result in a huge breakthrough for the group and, by the start of 2021, the biggest complaint being lobbed at them was that they were on TV a little too much.
South Korean labels have wanted to debut their performers in other countries for decades, and saw massive triumphs in BoA and TVXQ here in Japan.
However, all this success raises the question of what is behind K-pop’s latest perfectly choreographed moves into Japan. Are South Korean svengalis merely dabbling in J-pop? Or are they attempting to assert dominance in the world’s second-largest music market by doing what Japanese labels have struggled to do — make their artists well-known names overseas?
“NiziU and JO1 aren’t household names in Korea,” Chang says. “NiziU gets coverage, but it’s almost all based on JYP press releases on the group’s Oricon chart feats in Japan. Coverage on the two groups from the Korean media has largely centered around how the K-pop industry manages to stay influential in Japan even in the face of tense diplomatic relations between the two nations.”
It’s still uncertain whether JYP intends on a major push for NiziU outside of Japan, but the members are beginning to get stars in their eyes when it comes to international fame. Hillman hopes to one day meet NiziU’s growing fandoms in other countries, and Nakabayashi also discusses international moves before adding, “but for now I hope we mature at our own pace.”
出典：NiziU: Made in South Korea, totally Japanese – The JapanTimes 2021/4/22
語彙：
homebound：家に閉じ込められた、家から出られない
extravaganza：派手な（華やかな）ショー
territory：テリトリー、領域
aesthetic：美の、耽美的
choreography：振付
表現１：
Amid the homebound anxiety of the first few months of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, Japan seemed to take solace in one sonic solution: the NiziU hit, “Make You Happy.”
コロン（：）の使い方です。英文を読むときに、コロンやセミコロンなど和文では出てこない表現についてなんとなく読んでいませんか？
コロンの用法には、①例示、②補足、③引用、④強調、の４つがあります。
よく使うのは①例示ですね。
eg. I like any kind of fruit: apple, orange, grape.
訳：私は、リンゴ、ミカン、ブドウといったあらゆる果物が好きです。
今回の文章は②補足にあたりますね。
訳：昨年の新型コロナ禍における数か月の家にこもらなければならない不安の中、日本は音楽による慰めを見出した。それはNiziUによる楽曲”Make you Happy”のヒットである。
表現２：
It’s still uncertain whether JYP intends on a major push for NiziU outside of Japan, but the members are beginning to get stars in their eyes when it comes to international fame.
have/get stars in one’s eyes：心を躍らせている、ウキウキしている
この表現は特に日本人や漫画をよく読まれる方なら膝を打つような表現ではないでしょうか？「人の目の中に星がある」、確かにその描写が雰囲気からも感じられますよね。
訳：JYPが企図している NiziUの日本国外への売り出しはいまだ不確実なものであるが、NiziUのメンバーは国際的な名声を得られる日に心を躍らせている。