Arashi, Hey! Say! JUMP, KAT-TUN, and former Smap member Kimutaku are just some of the members to appear in these videos.

While the rest of the world has been washing their hands to the tune of “Happy Birthday” twice over in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, hand-washing advice has been slow to spread in Japan, where cases have remained relatively low…until now.

As the number of people testing positive for the virus begins to rise at a steady pace, especially in Tokyo, where over 60-percent of new cases have unknown routes of infection, the government is now ramping up countermeasures by declaring a state of emergency for seven prefectures, including Osaka and Tokyo.

As the government implores people to refrain from going out, the Ministry of Health is pushing for everyone to wash their hands. And now some famous faces have come out to spread awareness about the importance of hand-washing, starting with Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen’s Piko Taro, and now, hugely popular boy band Arashi.

The five-member pop group is bringing their boy band moves to the sink, with a new hand-washing song and a video that includes English subtitles.

Listen to the catchy J-pop tune below:

The English-subbed video was released three days after the original non-subbed version was uploaded to YouTube by the band’s management company Johnny & Associates. As it turns out, they’re not the only group from Johnny’s to perform the “Wash Your Hands” song, as new videos feature boy bands like Kanjani Eight, Kis-My-Ft2, Sexy Zone, Johnny’s West, and Naniwa Danshi…

As well as KAT-TUN, Hey! Say! JUMP, King & Prince, and Tomohisa Yamashita, or “Yamapi” as he’s affectionately known in Japan.

One of the latest hand-washing proponents to appear on the Johnny’s YouTube channel is former Smap member and all-round superstar Kimura Takuya (“Kimutaku“). He’s too cool for the boy band dance moves, though, so instead he shows us how to wash our hands from a fancy bathroom setting.

This glimpse into Kimutaku’s hand-washing technique is already attracting a lot of views on YouTube, and he’s not the only star to appear in a bathroom – the Arashi boys film a clip at the sinks too.

While most hand-washing experts advise that hands should be washed with soap for 20 seconds, the Arashi boys can be seen washing their hands for close to three whole minutes.

Still, many fans might feel this is simply three minutes too short, especially given that the boy band is set to suspend its activities at the end of the year after 21 years of singing and dancing together for the public.

The catchy song with the cool hand moves looks like it could become just as popular as the Love Dance of 2016. With a lot less footwork and a lot more soapy suds, here’s hoping it gets people washing their hands more thoroughly and more often, before the situation in Japan spirals out of control.

Source: YouTube/ARASHI, YouTube/Johnny’s official
Featured image: YouTube/ARASHI
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