Boy, was I wrong. While PONPONPON sits at a respectable 40 million views, that funny K-pop video turned out to be Gangnam Style (maybe you’ve heard of it) which as I write this, sits at 600 million views on YouTube. Its creator, K-pop sensation Psy, has danced with the UN Secretary General, taught Britney Spears to dance on network TV, and was signed to the same label as Justin Bieber.

But Gangnam Style never really caught on in Japan the way it caught on in the US and elsewhere. Around the same time Gangnam Style was blowing up, arguments over disputed islands in the Sea of Japan were getting heated between Korea and Japan. The most visible example of this is the South Korean soccer player ran across the field with a sign about the islands during the Summer Olympics.

In the last couple of weeks, big news outlets have reported that the two are related; Japan doesn’t like Gangnam Style based on the sole fact it’s Korean. It’s pretty mind boggling to me that this line of thinking is getting any press, but let me say it right now: it’s completely wrong.

Yes, Gangnam Style hasn’t done as ridiculously well in Japan as it has elsewhere in the world, but most Japanese aren’t petty enough to dislike a song out of spite. Even though the countries in East Asia feud from time to time, they’re still neighbors with more in common than you might be lead to believe.

Besides a lot of common history that dates back thousands of years, and a lot of the same cultural touchstones, countries in East Asia even like a lot of the same food, TV shows, music, and movies.

Conveyor belt sushi has really taken off in Korea, and last year Nikkei Trendy magazine named the Korean rice makkori as one of its top 30 products of 2011.

Korean dramas, similar to Japanese dramas, have done really well in Japan. At one point, even Japanese prime minister Koizumi proclaimed that he was a huge fan of Korean drama actress Choi Ji-woo.

And of course, we can’t have a conversation about Japan and Gangnam Style without talking about K-pop. Japan loves K-pop and it regularly does really well on the Japanese music charts. In fact as Patrick St. Michel points out, as recently as a couple of weeks ago, K-pop group Kara tore up the music charts in Japan with the song Electric Boy.

In fact, before the whole Gangnam Style phenomenon took off, Psy was planning to write a song called “Roppongi Style,” after Tokyo’s ritzy Roppongi district. Unfortunately for us, the song is indefinitely postponed, and I really doubt that it’ll ever be made.

With all that, I think that it’s pretty fair to say that while there might be some quarreling about disputed territory, the Japanese and the Koreans all in all get along pretty well and that Gangnam Style flopped in Japan for completely unrelated reasons.

Ultimately, I can’t really say for sure why Gangnam Style didn’t appeal to the Japanese. Nobody has found the formula to a song that’s a universal hit, although Gangnam Style’s definitely come close. I guess that Psy will have to be satisfied with the ridiculous success he’s found in every other country in the world.

And if you want further proof of the good attitudes between Japan and Korea, the incredible Japanese band World Order (who we wrote about earlier this year) made a whole music video about their commitment to friendship between Japan, Korea, and in all of East Asia. Check it out:

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[threecol_two]Sword-wielder lops off realtor’s arm, wounds two others before capture: This is the second time in as many months I’ve come across a story about an old guy going nuts and attacking people with a samurai sword. I guess they’re more spry than I gave them credit for. Remind me to watch my back next time I piss off some oyaji. [via News On Japan][/threecol_two] [threecol_one_last]Star of film ‘Hachiko’ to be celebrated with bronze statue: A new statue of Hachiko, the legendary Japanese dog whose loyalty extended beyond his master’s death, is being dedicated in Rhode Island, of all places. The Rhode Island town was used as a location for the movie Hachi: A Dog’s Tale, making the new statue part homage to the film, part tourist trap. This also brings the worldwide Hachiko statue count to just under 300 (outside Japan). [via Japundit]

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[threecol_one]Japan storm over ‘Beat’ Takeshi anti-gay comments: On the heels of US president Barack Obama openly endorsing gay marriage, Japanese celebrity “Beat” Takeshi compared gay marriage to marrying a dog. I mean sure, bestiality isn’t even remotely comparable to committing to a long-term relationship with another person but hey! He’s famous so he must know what he’s talking about, right? [via Japundit][/threecol_one] [threecol_one]Kyokutenho beats Tochiozan for title: Sumo wrestler Kyokutenho made history last week by becoming the oldest sumo wrestler to earn a title. At age 37, Kyokutenho’s victory gives hope to other, older people. You hear that, older Tofugu coworkers? Your lives aren’t over yet! [via News On Japan][/threecol_one] [threecol_one_last]The Quattro Prestige, a $50 Pizza From Domino’s Japan: First, KFC Japan opened up a restaurant that serves many varieties of whiskies, now Domino’s is offering up a $50 pizza? What’s next in this line of Japan fast food chains offering upscale items? Is McDonald’s Japan going to introduce an authentic Kobe beef burger? [via Reddit][/threecol_one_last]

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[threecol_one]Annular Solar Eclipse: Japan was lucky enough to witness a rare solar eclipse last weekend, bringing out people from all over the country to stare up into the sky with their specially-designed eclipse glasses. Check out some stunning pictures and video of the eclipse from our good pal Hikosaemon, News On Japan, or Kirainet. Missed out? You’ll have to wait till 2023 for the next Japanese eclipse.

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