This Canadian pop and R&B star has gone on many worldwide tours far away from home, performing all over Europe and North America, South America, Asia, and Oceania. Has this star picked up any Japanese during his travels?
It’s thought that Justin Bieber does not fluently speak Japanese, but he does know some words and conversational phrases. Bieber has expressed his desire to learn more of the language in interviews while explaining some of the phrases he already knows.
Read on below to find out more about the Japanese that Bieber knows, when he’s spoken Japanese, and other ways he’s tied to the language.
Bieber’s Japanese Knowledge
Bieber’s native language is English, and he grew up learning some French and Spanish phrases, giving him conversational knowledge. He has also been working on learning more Japanese, while he admits he needs work.
In this clip posted on Twitter from a behind the scenes interview of his new Calvin Klein video from early 2020, Bieber says, “I haven’t learned Japanese… I know a few words, and I happen to be quite good at it.”
He then launched into a few Japanese phrases and greeted the viewers in Japanese, before saying, “But that’s just a little bit, and I would like to learn more.”
Bieber also spoke Japanese in a commercial for SoftBank, a Japanese holding company with ties to technology, energy, and finance. Bieber starred in the commercial with Pikotaro, a character created by Daimaou Kosaka, a Japanese comedian and DJ.
In 2016, Bieber posted this on Twitter, linking Pikotaro’s most well known comedic song, PPAP (Pen-Pineapple-Apple-Pen), calling it his “favorite video on the internet.” In the video, which now has over 15 million views, Pikotaro sings and dances in his signature animal print.
Bieber’s appreciation of the song is most likely what led to their collaboration the following year in the SoftBank ad. In the behind the scenes video of the ad, Bieber is seen walking around in a deep blue suit, he and Pikotaro joke with students and with each other, and they gather the necessary props of a pen, pineapple, apple, and pen.
Check out the YouTube video below to see the behind the scenes teaser for the official Softbank ad with Justin Bieber and Pikotaro below.
Animal Crossing: New Horizons
Bieber is connected to Japan by more than just the language. A new character in the most recently released Animal Crossing game, New Horizons, was introduced and appears to be modeled after him.
In English, the resemblance is hidden, as the character’s English name is C.J. and is a beaver. In the Japanese version, though, the character’s name translates to Justin.
Katakana is the Japanese writing system used to transcribe words in other languages into Japanese or for loan words, which add words from one language into another without translation. When the word “beaver” is put into Katakana, it looks like this: “ビーバー.”
When “Bieber” is translated into katakana, it becomes “ビーバー,” which is written and pronounced the same way as the word “beaver” was translated. So, in the Japanese version, “Justin Bieber” and “Justin the beaver” are written and pronounced the same way, making the character a reference to the Canadian pop star.
The game includes references to other stars and celebrities, with many fans also theorizing that the chameleon character, named Flick in the English version, is meant to represent Skrillex. Flick’s name in the Japanese version is most widely recognized as “Rex,” since there is no official Japanese to English translation and the character does look a little bit like a dinosaur.
One fan, though, went even further, and based off C.J. representing Justin Bieber, wondered if the translation might be “Lex,” the last part of “Skrillex.” While the latter is not yet confirmed, the Justin Bieber/Justin Beaver pun has been a favorite with the game’s fans.