Society

PPAP star Piko Taro helps Foreign Ministry promote U.N. goals

Jul 08 (Japan Today) - YouTube star Piko Taro has partnered with the Japanese Foreign Ministry to promote little-known U.N. development goals in Japan, singing and dancing to the catchy melody of his hit song "Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen" in a video.

In the promotional video posted on YouTube on Friday, the comedian, whose viral hit swept the world last year, wears his trademark leopard-print scarf and sings the PPAP song, but the lyrics explain in this version PPAP stands for "Public-Private Action for Partnership."

"I have a pen, I have a book, UN (U.N.), education," he sings, conveying the key concepts of the U.N. Sustainable Development Goals, which set numerical targets to be reached by 2030 in 17 fields including poverty, health and education. The goals were adopted at a U.N. summit in 2015.

With the help of Piko Taro, the Foreign Ministry is hoping to draw public attention to the SDGs and highlight challenges that Japan is facing such as a lack of growth in local economies and income inequality, a senior official said.

Do Bears Prefer Acorns or Berries?

Bear sightings across Japan have already climbed to nearly twice the level recorded during the same period last year, prompting entry bans in mountain areas behind Kyoto’s Ninna-ji Temple and the cancellation of hiking events in Kansai, while new research suggests that the key to reducing encounters may lie in understanding what bears eat in each region.

Copper Thieves Target Japanese Shrines

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Flames broke out on the morning of May 20th on Miyajima Island in Hiroshima Prefecture, home to one of Japan's World Heritage sites, destroying Reikado Hall near the summit of Mount Misen.

From Bento Boxes to Garbage Bags, Rising Costs Hitting Daily Life Across Japan

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A 25-year-old woman arrested as a suspected ringleader in a robbery-murder case in Tochigi Prefecture once posted cheerful dance videos on social media and was remembered by those who knew her as an energetic and outgoing young woman.

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