Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a daily column that runs on Page 1 of The Asahi Shimbun.
February 16, 2023 at 15:56 JST
A fighter jet flies past the remnants of a large balloon after it was shot down above the Atlantic Ocean, just off the coast of South Carolina near Myrtle Beach on Feb. 4. (Chad Fish via AP)
When the Berlin Wall separated East and West Germany during the Cold War, balloons of various colors were released into the sky in 1982 while the Rolling Stones held an outdoor concert in West Berlin.
Among the audience was German musician Carlo Karges (1951-2002), who wondered what would happen if the balloons drifted east.
That inspired him to write the lyrics of “99 Luftballons” (99 balloons) the following year for the band Nena, of which he was the guitarist.
Sung by the band’s eponymous lead vocalist, the antiwar song became a global hit.
The original German lyrics translate as follows: “99 balloons/ on their way to the horizon./ People think they’re UFOs from space, so a general sent up a fighter squadron after them. ... /Man, who would’ve thought things would someday go so far/ because of 99 balloons?”
After shooting down a suspicious Chinese balloon earlier this month, the United States has gone on to bring down three flying objects of unknown nationality.
Listening with this in mind, Nena’s song eerily echoes today’s reality.
In anticipation of a foreign balloon invading Japanese air space, the Defense Ministry announced on Feb. 14 that it will review its rules of weapons use.
The White House has since admitted the three flying objects may have been “tied to some commercial or benign purpose.”
But people who are afraid of unknown objects are actively posting on social media. I fear the possibility of tensions rising among the superpowers, triggering an unforeseen crisis.
The song “99 Luftballons” celebrated its 40th birthday last month, and Nena thanked the song on social media for being a messenger of peace.
The song concludes with the singer finding just one balloon in the war-torn rubble to prove that the world was still here and releasing it into the sky while thinking of “you.”
--The Asahi Shimbun, Feb. 16
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Vox Populi, Vox Dei is a popular daily column that takes up a wide range of topics, including culture, arts and social trends and developments. Written by veteran Asahi Shimbun writers, the column provides useful perspectives on and insights into contemporary Japan and its culture.
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