SMAP Does China

Top Japanese boy band SMAP finally made its first concert performance in China Sept. 16 at the Workers Stadium in Beijing before an estimated 40,000 people.

It was not only SMAP’s first show in Beijing but the quintet’s first concert anywhere outside of Japan since its debut in 1988.

Besides connecting to SMAP’s Chinese fans, the concert had several other purposes. Policymakers in both countries see the high-profile event as a way to “boost friendship” ahead of next year’s 40th anniversary of normalization of bilateral ties between Japan and China, according to Japan’s Mainichi newspaper.

Since last year, those ties have been strained due to several incidents, including the arrest of a Chinese fishing boat skipper who purposely rammed a Japan Coast Guard vessel near some islands to which both countries have claims.

The incident caused SMAP to cancel the original Shanghai show it had scheduled in October of 2010.

Another purpose of the show was to thank China for assistance it gave Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. The theme of the concert was “Do Your Best Japan, Thank You China, Asia is One.”

The group performed 30 songs, including a Chinese-language version of its biggest hit, “The Only Flower in the World.”