Series

by LEFTERIS KAFATOS
Hokubei Mainichi

Labor Day has come and gone, but that doesn’t mean we can’t pay a kanji tribute to everyone’s favorite activity: Work! So this week’s kanji are “labor” (労, ro); “weight” (重, omoi); “strength” (力, chikara); and “move” (動, ugoki).

PITTSBURGH (Kyodo) — Popular African American enka singer Jero wowed an audience of about 500 who packed an auditorium at the University of Pittsburgh, his alma mater on Aug. 27, impressing them with his soulful tunes sung in perfect Japanese.

Jero belted out his hugely successful debut single, “Umiyuki” (Ocean Snow), along with classic enka megahits such as “Hisame” (Icy Rain) and “Yurakucho de Aimasho” (Let’s Meet at Yurakucho).