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The story
On September 19, 2026, at the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games — the first Games held in Japan in 32 years — local-born actress Keiko Toda gave a solo performance of the national anthem ‘Kimigayo.’ While her singing itself drew widespread praise, questions arose on X over where she took a breath in the lyrics — specifically between ‘sazare’ and ‘ishi no’ — sparking a debate after critics argued that since ‘sazareishi’ (small pebbles) is a single word, splitting it with a breath ‘just doesn’t sound right.’ On 5ch, reactions ranged from musical opinions on the breathing point, to broader takes on the performance itself, to criticism based on her age.
Tue, 9/22, 6:35 PM
On September 20, a fierce debate broke out on X over how ‘Kimigayo’ should be sung. It started on September 19, when the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games — the first Games held in Japan in 32 years — opened, and local-born actress Keiko Toda gave a solo rendition of the anthem at the opening ceremony. That’s when people began weighing in on her ‘breathing point’ during the song.
“Amid the outpouring of praise for Toda’s singing, questions were raised online about her taking a breath between ‘sazare’ and ‘ishi no’ in the lyrics. Some pointed out that since ‘sazareishi’ is a single word, breaking it up with a breath doesn’t make sense,” (entertainment reporter)
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Original article here
What people said
LMAO
then that's probably the better call.
Then again, Toda Keiko isn't a professional singer.
They're saying 'don't split up sazareishi!' but is it fine to tear the actual national anthem itself apart into pieces?
How you sing it should be up to the singer.
If you want to complain that badly, go legislate an official 'Kimigayo Singing Method' and decide the 'correct' way to sing it.
So dumb.
You're right.
"Amid the cosmos, with you…" (i.e., splitting the words the correct way)
but let's not ask for too much.
If it were Haruka Tomatsu, now that'd be a steal.
The media should be grilling the organizers over how badly this tournament is being run instead.
Wasn't there a really terrible national anthem performance a while back?
Who was that again?
The pitch's tricky, right?
It jumps up out of nowhere.
can easily go off-key on this one.
Apparently it sounds more authentic when it's not sung on a Western scale.
Guess we'll just get AI to sing it from now on.
This right here is why voice actors shouldn't sing.
Then don't make ordinary citizens sing it either.
you'd hope she'd already know this.
You get that splitting up 'sazareishi' — a single word — just feels wrong to any Japanese person, right? You wouldn't split 'sayonara' into 'sayo' and 'onara' (fart), would you?
By that logic, they'd probably complain about the breath break in ZARD's 'Makenaide' too — the line 'donna ni wa na~re~te temo' ('no matter how far apart').
Since the actual line is 'hanaretetemo' ('even if we're apart'), maybe splitting it is intentional wordplay to mirror being apart?
Background and Key Points of the Debate
Kimigayo was officially designated Japan’s national anthem under the Act on National Flag and Anthem, enacted in 1999, but there is no official standard governing exactly where singers should breathe while performing it. School music classes often teach students to sing ‘sazareishi’ without a break, but in actual solo or choral performances, the breathing point can vary depending on a singer’s technique and vocal range — so even professional singers don’t always agree on the ‘right’ way to do it. On the thread, discussion ranged from musical arguments over whether the breath break was appropriate, to criticism of the performance itself sparked by that complaint, to mockery aimed back at the critics for ‘picking a fight over nothing.’ Some replies escalated into political name-calling — labeling people ‘netto uyoku’ (right-wing internet trolls) or ‘communists’ — but this piece leaves out those personal attacks and political flame wars, focusing instead on the exchange over the breathing-point debate itself.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geino/Sports News+) thread “Keiko Toda’s Solo Rendition of ‘Kimigayo’ at the Asian Games Opening Ceremony Draws Praise, But Sparks Debate Over Where She Breathes.”
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