Japan may have little to celebrate with its economic recovery still fragile, so some cheerleaders are hitting the streets and stages to pep up the mood - including one pom-pom squad whose average age is 66.
On a recent Saturday, some 20 members of elderly cheerleading club Japan Pom Pom performed at a competition near Tokyo, waving gold pom-poms and dancing to the rhythm in shiny red costumes adored with sequins and wearing bobbed silver wigs.
"I started cheerleading when I was 63 and I think I can dance much better and have made some improvements. Anybody can improve, even if you are old," said Fumie Takino, the 78-year-old leader and founder of the club.
The club, whose members' ages average 66 and add up to 1,520 years, practices two hours a week and often performs at children's hospitals as well as nursing homes.
Takino said that their main goal is to have fun.
"There is a lot of depressing news and the economy is bad. I must say, I can only do a little to overcome this problem, but I hope we can provide energy and encourage people by showing how we senior cheerleaders are simply enjoying ourselves," she said.
The group's enthusiasm appears to be contagious.
In Tokyo's bustling business district of Shinjuku, Aya Saito, 33, has been dancing on a street every morning to the 1980s pop song "Mickey" for seven months as commuters rush by to work.
"Are you guys enjoying your job? Let's do our best today, too!" Saito called out on a recent week day, her long ponytail shaking as she hopped. Some took out their mobile phones to shoot photos while an old woman watched in amazement.
Saito said she started her daily dance routine last August after wondering how she could tell other employees to avoid making the same mistake that she did in her previous job, and which led her to quit - bottling up her frustration.
Her solution? She taught herself cheerleading by watching YouTube clips and hit the street in a $40 red, sleeveless cheerleading costume, purchased at a party goods store.
"One guy said he was going to quit his job but decided to stay after watching me dance here. That kind of thing makes me feel that my cheerleading is worthwhile," said Saito, now a freelance PR agent when she is not dancing.
(Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a multimedia journalist at the China Daily Web site.)
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(Agencies)
經濟復甦仍很疲軟的日本可能沒什麼值得慶賀的，所以一群啦啦隊隊員走上街頭，登上舞臺，提振大家的情緒，其中一支啦啦隊的平均年齡達到了66歲。
在最近的一個周六，「日本花球」老年啦啦隊俱樂部的約20名成員在東京附近舉行的一場比賽中亮相。啦啦隊成員身穿飾有金屬亮片的亮紅色隊服，頭戴銀色短假髮，手中揮舞著金色花球，跟著節奏起舞。
俱樂部創始人、78歲的啦啦隊隊長武田鬱惠說：「我63歲開始參加啦啦隊，我覺得自己現在跳得好多了，還是有所進步的。每個人都能進步，老年人也不例外。」
這家俱樂部成員的平均年齡為66歲，所有人的年齡加起來共有1520歲。她們每周訓練兩個小時，經常在兒童醫院和療養院表演。
武田說她們的主要目的是獲得樂趣。
她說：「現在大家每天聽到很多不好的消息，經濟狀況也很糟糕。我想說的是，我只能為這一問題的解決盡點微薄之力，但我希望我們能讓大家感受到活力，通過展示我們老年啦啦隊是如何給自己找樂趣的來鼓勵大家。」
這個老年啦啦隊的熱情似乎很有感染力。
在東京繁忙的新宿商業區，每天早晨，當身邊的上班族都在行色匆匆地趕路時，33歲的齋藤彩會在一條街上隨著80年代的流行樂曲《米奇》跳舞，至今她已經堅持了七個月。
齋藤在最近的一天早晨跳舞時大聲喊道：「你們喜歡自己的工作嗎？今天我們也要做到最好！」她在跳舞時，長長的馬尾辮左右擺動。一些人掏出手機拍下當時的情景，還有一名老年女性一臉驚訝地看著她。
齋藤稱，她從去年八月份開始每天跳舞，之前她一直不知道如何告訴其他同事不要犯她在上一個工作中所犯的同樣錯誤，這個導致她辭職的錯誤就是壓抑自己的沮喪情緒。
那麼她是如何解決這個問題的呢？她通過觀看YouTube視頻自學啦啦隊舞蹈，從派對商店買了一件40美元的紅色無袖啦啦隊隊服，然後穿上它上街跳舞。
齋藤說：「一個朋友說，他本來打算辭去工作，但在看了我跳舞后決定留下來。類似的事情讓我覺得這樣做很值。」在不跳舞的時候，齋藤是一名自由公關顧問。
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（中國日報網英語點津 Julie 編輯蔡姍姍）