Move over, Arashi! Step aside, Exile! There’s a newer, older boy band in town.
Here at RocketNews24, we like to keep our readers up to date with Japan’s hottest elderly idol groups like Osaka’s Obaaachan and Okinawa’s KBG84.
And now there are some new guys creating a buzz: JI-POP (爺-POP), a more mature “boy” band brought together to help promote tourism in Kochi Prefecture. The “JI” in their name comes from the Japanese word ojisan, meaning “old man” or “grandpa.”
The five members, who together have an average age of 67.4 years old, are all local men from Kochi Prefecture. Let’s take a look their profiles to get better acquainted with these newcomers to the Japanese pop scene:
▼ Norihiro Tanioka, 67 years old. “The City Market Sheriff.”
Check out this cowboy getting his bargain on every third Sunday of the month!
▼ Akira Odaka, 65 years old. “The Town Fisherman Director.”
Also: the cute one. Don’t you just want to pinch those cheeks?
▼ Iwao Yamamoto, 59 years old. “The Manufacturing Association Prez”
A.K.A. “The Bamboo Shoot Phantom.”
▼ Yoshinori Deki, 66 years old. “The Shellfish-Loving Fisherman.”
The shy one. If you try to talk to him, he just clams up.
▼ Hidetada Yamada, 80 years old. “The Marathon-Lover.”
The blue jeans-wearing heartbreaker.
What a line-up! With their wrinkle-free smooth moves and angelic voices from a previous era, JI-POP has been melting hearts of all ages across Japan.
Here is the music video for their debut single “Hooray for Old Age!” with highlights and translations below.
▼ The beginning of the video, setting the dazzling tone for the rest to come.
▼ “JI… JI JI JI JI JI… JI JI JI JI JI-POP!”
Well, I don’t know about you, but I’m already swooning.
▼ “Let us tell you about Kochi Prefecture.”
▼ “One in every three people is over age 65!”
▼ “But everybody’s happy! Kochi Prefecture is full of energy fruits!”
Oh yes guys! Sell that delicious Kochi produce to the tourists!
▼ “Even if we try to stay up late…”
▼ “…we suddenly wake up at 5:30 in the morning.”
▼ “Hooray for old age! Hooray for old age!”
▼ “Hooray for Kochi Prefecture! Hooray for Kochi Prefecture!”
▼ “We have everything we need: the fruits of the sea… the fruits of the mountains…
And the fruits of… you.”
▼ Yes, JI-POP! I want to be your fruit! We all want to be your fruit!
With such distinguished gentlemen and a catchy debut single to boot, JI-POP is almost certainly going to bring Kochi Prefecture some elderly tourist love. They have “energy fruits,” great produce/seafood, and cool old guys, so what’s not to love?
According to the official website, JI-POP is currently searching for videos of people singing and/or dancing along to their song. So if you’re into it, why not give it a try and submit your own version?
Either way, if you didn’t know Kochi Prefecture even existed before today, you certainly do now, all thanks to JI-POP!
Source: JI-POP Official Website via Hachimakiko
Featured/top image:YouTube/admin kochika
Insert Images: JI-POP Official Website, YouTube/admin kochika