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ESL / EFL Lesson Activity on SMAP Pop Concert

Japan’s most pop group SMAP played their first overseas concert on Friday night. The group formed 20 years ago but have sung outside Japan before. They chose perform for their Chinese in Beijing. The five-member boy band appeared in of over 40,000 screaming fans at the Beijing Workers Stadium. They a concert in China last year but it was cancelled because of an argument China and Japan over owned an island.

SMAP’s singer Kimura Takuya said the concert was to thank you to China for its after the tsunami that hit Japan on March 11. The of the concert was: "Come on, Japan. Thank you, China. Asia is a home". At the of the concert, Takuya told the audience: "I will remember today. I am looking forward to you again." Another band member, Inagaki Goro, said: "I am so to [perform] in China. I hope this show will strengthen the friendship between [ two countries]."