Six members of Japanese all-girl pop group AKB48 took the stage in Beijing on Friday in a mini concert, expressing gratitude for support provided by Chinese people following the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. The AKB48 members performed three songs in front of around 500 fans in the concert, held as part of an event to show Japan's resilience after the disaster and support devastated areas in northeastern Japan by displaying local specialties.
''Thank you for supporting us at the time of the disaster,'' one of the members, Ayaka Umeda, said. ''We'd like to perform live concerts all over the world including China this year.'' Members of AKB48, which is also popular in China, have been named goodwill ambassadors as Japan and China mark the 40th anniversary this year of the normalization of bilateral relations. Around 14,000 fans applied for the 500 seats at the concert, according to the Japanese Embassy in Beijing. The group will hold another concert on Saturday and also attend events in Shanghai and Hong Kong.
Published on Monday, 20 February 2012
