Photo: huanqiu.com

"Music, just like sports, transcends national boundaries. For me, 'Together for a Shared Future' can be interpreted as the unity between nations in fighting against the pandemic," singer of the Japanese version of the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympic Games theme song said in an exclusive interview with the Global Times on Saturday. 

Inagaki Nanaho or Qisui in Chinese, who gained fame in China after taking part in the reality show, Youth With You, said she felt honored to participate and cheer for the Beijing Winter Olympics in this way. The theme song Together for a Share Future means to her warmth and strength where people no longer feel lonely but full of expectations and with the motivation to move forward, she told the Global Times. 

Qisui was living in Beijing when the 2008 Olympic Games were held, and she witnessed wonderful moments during that time. On the 2022 Winter Olympic Games, she hopes to get the Japanese public to cheer for Beijing together by singing this song. 

She has a passion for skating and her love for the sport was first developed in Beijing. She also tried skiing in Hokkaido before but was too afraid of the height. "The Beijing Winter Games, however, have once again inspired me to challenge the sport one more time," she said.

Yuzuru Hanyu, the Japanese "figure skating prince" that enjoys incredible popularity among Chinese spectators, is also Qisui's idol. "Of course, I am paying great attention to his performance at the Beijing Winter Games and whether he can complete the quadruple axel, but actually, as long as I can see him, I already feel energized," Qisui said.

She further noted that as a Japanese singer in China, she hopes to contribute to more bilateral cultural exchanges in the future.