JKT48 in Shachou Shima Kousaku Translation
On our previous article, we have talked about how JKT48 for the first time being featured prominently in a long-running manga that is pretty popular among middle-ages readers in Japan.
Tokyo Pop translated it into English which then QCed by RHKilis.
So without further ado, the translation!
Cover
President Kousaku Shima, by Kenshi Hirokane
Step 179: I’ll Take You There
In Jakarta, with a new eagerness!
Synopsis
Shima had been playing golf during his day off in Jakarta, and someone accidentally hit a ball down Shima’s course. The man who hit the ball was from Somsan Electronics. By accident, Shima witnessed a rival company entertaining their customers, who were Indonesian government officials. Shima knows the importance of having connections with the government, so it has become a priority issue to him.
Page 1
Boss, do you usually visit these kinds of places when you travel abroad for business?
Yeah.
The standard of living and dynamism of a country are visible in these marketplaces, so I always schedule a time to visit and observe them.
Page 2
What’s this?
This is sambal, a chili-based sauce. It’s common for the people of Indonesia to add it to every single meal.
Each restaurant and family creates its own flavor. You’ll enjoy it.
Oh, they open a chicken with a cleaver in front of the customer?
Yes. It’s great, isn’t it? Don’t stand too close, or you’ll get blood on your clothes.
Page 3
The name of this gyouza restaurant is Oushou (King). Is it related to the restaurant chain with the same name in Japan?
(Note: Santong Kuo Tieh Sue Kiaw 68 is a well-known ethnic Chinese restaurant located on Jl. Pancoran Raya, Glodok, Taman Sari, West Jakarta.)
I don’t think so.
Mmm, it’s great!
Are you all right, boss? I mean, I know someone who couldn’t eat the local food when he came to Indonesia.
Page 4
I’ll be all right. I ate at a lot of food stalls in the Philippines and India. I enjoyed all the local dishes.
People like us from the baby boomer generation are very tough. We survived through the hardship following World War II.
Absolutely, the children of today’s generation looks frail.
Ha ha ha! This is a reason why our generation is hated by others. A bad thing never dies, you know.
Here’s your order~
It’s gyouza.
Oh, what a cute girl! What’s your name?
My name is Nadila.
You’re all Japanese people, right? I admire Japanese things, and I want to live in Japan in the future.
Page 5
Oh, why is that?
I’m a trainee member in JKT48.
JKT48? Is it like Japan’s AKB48?
That’s right, boss. The group is managed by a Japanese ad agency.
While working part-time at the restaurant, I’m training hard to become an official member. In the future, I want to join AKB and perform widely in Japan’s entertainment industry.
Would you like to come to the JKT48 Theater later? Today is the day we trainees will perform there.
Shall we check it out, boss?
Sure.
Page 6
The JKT48 Theater is located in a large shopping mall.
Young boys line up prior to the start of the performances. There’s something strange about the fact that they are superficially like AKB48 fans in Japan.
Page 7
Wow, wild with excitement. They are similar to Japanese idol fans.
Yes. There are so many imitation idol units in the world similar to AKB, but I hear that Jakarta’s JKT48 has approval from Mr. Akimoto in Japan.
Their songs are from AKB48, and they have original songs as well. The dances and MC segments are all modeled after AKB in Japan.
Page 8
What I should be surprised about are the young fans here. They yell out and dance to the music. They do a unique dance called wota-gei just as one might see in Japan.
It’s a two-hour show with fan participation, and both the idols and their fans reach a fever pitch together.
Somehow I felt so tired after the show.
[Kouhei Sadamatsu, of the Denpoudou branch in Jakarta]
My name is Sadamatsu; I am the producer of JKT48. Did you enjoy the show, Mr. Shima?
Page 9
Well, it was full of surprises. Do you think this business will be successful in Jakarta?
Yes. It is still too early to earn back our investment, but we are working positively to develop this business.
Come in.
Excuse me! It’s Nadila.
Ah, we were waiting for you.
Page 10
You met each other at a lunch, right? Although Nadila is still a trainee, she is someone with high potential, so I hope to promote her to the main team soon.
Thank you very much for coming even with your busy schedule.
In fact, her father is a diplomat and is staying alone in Japan to work at the Indonesian embassy.
Oh?
We can use this to build our connections, boss.
I know…
Mr. Sadamatsu, can you arrange an appointment with her father in Japan?
Yes, of course. She will make a call. May I ask why?
Page 11
Well, we hope to make some connections with people in the Indonesian government.
Even if it’s a small connection now, perhaps you can make it bigger by some means. Is there any possibility for you to transfer her to Japan?
I will have to see if Mr. Akimoto approves of the idea…
Boss! I will ask for a favor from Mr. Akimoto. We’ll make a proposal for TECOT to use JKT for an advertisement.
All right, but we need a win-win proposal. I think it’s worth doing if it assists our business in Indonesia.
Thank you, boss! As a first step, we at TECOT will make her a star!
Oh? So you plan to use JKT in an ad campaign?
Page 12
Not exactly. Not JKT48, but her!!
We’ll use Nadila in the advertisement as a TECOT character!
Managed by Denpoudou, of course.
[Private conversation, redacted.]
Oh my! Really? I’m so happy!
Well, shall we visit her home? We should inform her mother about this matter.
[Private conversation, redacted.]
Please come! My mother will appreciate it very much, and she wants to meet you!
Page 13
Nadila Bonita’s house is located in a quiet residential area. It isn’t a luxurious mansion, but her family seems to be one of the wealthy ones in Indonesia.
Good evening! Welcome! I’m Nadila’s mother.
My name is Ooba from TECOT Indonesia. It’s a pleasure to meet you.
It’s nice to meet you, too.
Page 14
This is the President of TECOT Japan, Mr. Kousaku Shima.
Nice to meet you.
Konbanwa. Yoroshiku.
Huh? Does she speaks Japanese?
No, I don’t think so. Her husband works for the Indonesian embassy, so she knows a few Japanese words, I guess.
Oh, that’s right.
Would you care to join us for a drink?
Oh, thank you very much.
Page 15
I have to say you are very quick at work, Mr. Ooba!!
It’s very important to have a good connection with the bureaucracy in every country. Even the smallest connection will be useful in the future.
They are all reliable fellows.
Yes.
NOTES :
This chapter was printed in the 26th issue of Kodansha’s weekly Morning magazine, dated 13 June 2013. It went on sale on 30 May.
English Translation Tokyo Pop
English QC RHKilis
WOW. Is the story based on the true fact? I just know from this that Nadila is a daughter of Japan Indonesian Embassy staff.
There is no relation to the Nadila we know. A footnote on one of the pages states that the characters are fictional.
I thought so. Just want to re-confirm.
Ohhhh I love piece of life manga , Nadila home interior really represent enough typical of Jakarta midclass residents, so there are no place to be hypocrites, looks the mangaka do the research about field situation.
Yeah, I have to admit the mangaka had done a good research about our country. Good, but not good enough. Because it’s very rare in Indonesia (if it couldn’t be expressed with “ridiculous”), a daughter from a wealthy family (A Diplomat, man! Did you read that? A Diplomat, cuy!!) taking a part time job as a waitress. If I exerted myself to say that such a thing really exist, no doubt I’d be sent to Grogol Asylum for good.
dude..
Bara Pattiradjawane, is a son of Indonesia diplomat, and he holds a degree in international relation
yet he found his joy of life in cooking and culinaire (stuff that usually related with females)..
so, those kind of people do exist
oh, so this is how bussiness-man conversations,, such topics.
very different from the vvota’s topics.
so the name is Nadila Bonita? ^^; pau2 and uty fusion?
Probably inspired by the real 2nd generation members
Or maybe the author had watched the show and learned about JKT48 first
From pieces of info here and there.. Looks like the author is deliberately mixing truth and “opposite truth” from various members’ background into one character… Interesting.
Oooh so its only one chapter
no offence, but the dude face expression on the last page looks like a pimp..
Hi, can I make ur translation attach to the manga? I mean like scanlation stuff. Thanks
Lemme ask Tokyo Pop first as the one who did the translation