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wait... the poll is titled "understand japanese music" but the question is asking if I'm japanese.... those are two completely different things.
No, I'm not japanese nor a japanese citizen. My wife is an american of japanese ancestry but speaks it very poorly. Her primary language is English.
I can understand, read, and write japanese but rather slowly. I'm learning it as are my two teenage sons.
I can pick up about every third word in a japanese pop tune if the singers are clearly enunciating. I have to translate the lyrics off the liner notes for the rest.
A lot of japanese groups throw enough english words to kind of get it... plus the grammar of japanese lyrics is often more poetic than grammatically correct.
When I listen to japanese music (or any foreign music) the first thing I listen for is a nice beat, good instrumentals, and quality singing voices. Next is the mood the song evokes. If it still has my ear, I'll figure out the lyrics.
I have a fair amount of music from other countries but most of my import music is from Japan just because I find the culture interesting.
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