Created in collaboration with web media organization Cool Japan TV, the new clip has been designed to express the “love-and-hate feeling that foreigners have with Japanglish.“ Namewee, who composed and performed the song, appears in the clip with Japanese actress Meu Ninomiya, who plays his high school student guide.

Cool Japan TV arranged the music, using elements of shamisen, a traditional Japanese three-stringed instrument, and the lively Okinawan music style to create a song that’s being described as “the first in Japan to incorporate Japan’s festival music and Bon dance with foreign music.“

The Bon dance, traditionally performed in summer during Obon, the festival of the dead, plays a big role in the style and tone of the video, which goes by the official title Tokyo Bon 2020 (Makudonarudo). Award-winning choreographer Ukon Takafuji incorporated Bon dance steps into the routines seen in the clip.

In case you can’t get enough of the song, there’s a dance version below:

With the 2020 Tokyo Olympics less than 1,000 days away, now’s a good time to brush up on our Japanglish. For more tips on Japanese phrases, take a look here!

Related Stories:
First-ever Bon-Odori dance festival to be held at Shibuya scramble crossing for Obon
Hello Kitty dances the traditional Bon Odori dance on new Japanese summer kimono
Funky food-themed swaddling cloths let you wrap your baby up like sushi, egg rolls, or tortillas

Related Stories:
First-ever Bon-Odori dance festival to be held at Shibuya scramble crossing for Obon
Hello Kitty dances the traditional Bon Odori dance on new Japanese summer kimono
Funky food-themed swaddling cloths let you wrap your baby up like sushi, egg rolls, or tortillas