Regular 'Salarymen' in Japan Become TikTok Stars
2022-09-02
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1In Japan, "salarymen" means ordinary office workers.
2These white-collar workers are seen as hard-working, but rather, well, ordinary.
3However, two so-called "salarymen" are now among Japan's biggest TikTok stars.
4The leader and a general manager at the small Japanese company Daikyo Security have been recognized as trend-setters by the online video-sharing site TikTok.
5The creator of the account is chief executive Daisuke Sakurai.
6On the company's TikTok page you can watch Sakurai and general manager Tomohiko Kojima do funny dances or eat noodles.
7In another video, workers cook up a tasty egg dish.
8The videos all show the happy but simple life of ordinary working men and women.
9And these people do not seem to take themselves too seriously.
10The content might make people laugh.
11But Sakurai is serious about strengthening the company's image and getting new people to work at the company.
12He believes those goals must be met for the company's survival.
13Before TikTok, the number of people seeking jobs at Daikyo Security was zero.
14After TikTok, the company gets many requests for employment, including people who want to work on the videos.
15Sakurai has his eyes on global workers.
16He wants to draw workers from places like Vietnam and Indonesia.
17And he is permitting them to use English instead of Japanese.
18Founded in 1967, the company has 85 employees.
19Most of them do what is called "three K" work in Japan, Sakurai says.
20That stands for "kitsui, kitanai, kiken," meaning, "hard, dirty, and dangerous."
21Such work includes security at building sites.
22The guards direct traffic and make sure trucks and equipment move safely without accident or injury.
23The job does not require very special skills.
24But the positions are hard to fill.
25Many people do not want to stand outdoors for hours and hours.
26And, there are many security companies competing for employees.
27Japan's population is aging quickly.
28As a result, every industry is suffering a labor shortage.
29So, why not turn to social media, the place where young people hang out? Sakurai started posting on Twitter and Instagram.
30But it was when he went on TikTok that things went viral.
31In one popular video, Kojima slaps pieces of thin colorful plastic, called gel sheets, onto his boss's face over his eyes.
32Each sheet has the eyes of a comic book character.
33The subtitles in English ask: "What is the character?".
34The videos have a clear message: These company workers do not take themselves too seriously.
35This may go against the image of a serious work environment where lower-level employees and more powerful ones do not joke around together.
36Well, at Daikyo Security, a worker gets to slap gel sheets on the company chief.
37The videos are also helping the company connect with a much larger audience.
38A recent video features gel sheets with several nations' flags on them to the sounds of World's Smallest Violin, a pop song by American group AJR.
39That video led to thousands of comments and millions of views.
40When they showed a flag from Mongolia, viewers from Mongolia showed their appreciation in the comments.
41Others requested their favorite flags, such as Lithuania or Lebanon.
42It is a sign TikTok has helped Daikyo Security overcome language and cultural barriers by making people laugh.
43"What makes my job worthwhile is that it's about people," Kojima said, "...not things."
44I'm Anna Matteo.
1In Japan, "salarymen" means ordinary office workers. These white-collar workers are seen as hard-working, but rather, well, ordinary. 2However, two so-called "salarymen" are now among Japan's biggest TikTok stars. 3The leader and a general manager at the small Japanese company Daikyo Security have been recognized as trend-setters by the online video-sharing site TikTok. 4The creator of the account is chief executive Daisuke Sakurai. 5On the company's TikTok page you can watch Sakurai and general manager Tomohiko Kojima do funny dances or eat noodles. In another video, workers cook up a tasty egg dish. 6The videos all show the happy but simple life of ordinary working men and women. And these people do not seem to take themselves too seriously. 7The content might make people laugh. But Sakurai is serious about strengthening the company's image and getting new people to work at the company. He believes those goals must be met for the company's survival. 8Before TikTok, the number of people seeking jobs at Daikyo Security was zero. After TikTok, the company gets many requests for employment, including people who want to work on the videos. 9Sakurai has his eyes on global workers. He wants to draw workers from places like Vietnam and Indonesia. And he is permitting them to use English instead of Japanese. 10Founded in 1967, the company has 85 employees. Most of them do what is called "three K" work in Japan, Sakurai says. That stands for "kitsui, kitanai, kiken," meaning, "hard, dirty, and dangerous." 11Such work includes security at building sites. The guards direct traffic and make sure trucks and equipment move safely without accident or injury. The job does not require very special skills. But the positions are hard to fill. Many people do not want to stand outdoors for hours and hours. And, there are many security companies competing for employees. 12Japan's population is aging quickly. As a result, every industry is suffering a labor shortage. 13So, why not turn to social media, the place where young people hang out? Sakurai started posting on Twitter and Instagram. But it was when he went on TikTok that things went viral. 14In one popular video, Kojima slaps pieces of thin colorful plastic, called gel sheets, onto his boss's face over his eyes. Each sheet has the eyes of a comic book character. The subtitles in English ask: "What is the character?". 15The videos have a clear message: These company workers do not take themselves too seriously. This may go against the image of a serious work environment where lower-level employees and more powerful ones do not joke around together. Well, at Daikyo Security, a worker gets to slap gel sheets on the company chief. 16The videos are also helping the company connect with a much larger audience. 17A recent video features gel sheets with several nations' flags on them to the sounds of World's Smallest Violin, a pop song by American group AJR. That video led to thousands of comments and millions of views. 18When they showed a flag from Mongolia, viewers from Mongolia showed their appreciation in the comments. Others requested their favorite flags, such as Lithuania or Lebanon. 19It is a sign TikTok has helped Daikyo Security overcome language and cultural barriers by making people laugh. 20"What makes my job worthwhile is that it's about people," Kojima said, "...not things." 21I'm Anna Matteo. 22Yuri Kageyama reported this story from Tokyo for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English. 23_________________________________________________________________ 24Words in This Story 25white-collar - adj. of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing 26manager - n. a person whose work or profession is management 27trend-setter - n. one that sets a trend : someone or something that starts or helps to popularize a new fashion, style, movement, etc. 28noodle - n. a thin often flat strip of fresh or dried dough (as of flour and egg) that is usually boiled 29slap - v. to strike sharply with or as if with the open hand 30character - n. a person in a story or play 31appreciation - n. awareness or understanding of worth or value 32____________________________________________________________________ 33We want to hear from you. Do you have a TikTok story or favorite video on another platform? In the Comments section, you can also practice using any of the vocabulary from the story. 34We have a new comment system. Here is how it works: 35Write your comment in the box. 36Under the box, you can see four images for social media accounts. They are for Disqus, Facebook, Twitter and Google. 37Click on one image and a box appears. Enter the login for your social media account. Or you may create one on the Disqus system. It is the blue circle with "D" on it. It is free. 38Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.