This interview was originally published in Japanese on thefirsttimes.jp. Translated by VK Chronicle.

ZILLION × Tsuyoshi Kitazawa Interview: “One Day” — Where Soccer and Music Intersect

The nine-member next-generation dance vocal group ZILLION’s third pre-debut EP One Day EP (releasing June 1st) features the title track “One Day,” which serves as the theme song for the “2022 Plenus Nadeshiko League.” Since the league’s opening match on March 19th, the song has been used in match broadcasts and digests on YouTube’s “Nadeshiko League Channel” for the “2022 Plenus Nadeshiko League Division 1,” making it already familiar to soccer fans. Written specifically for the “Nadeshiko League,” the song has garnered praise for its fresh sound and lyrics that reflect the earnestness of players who trust their teammates and pursue their dreams, while also mirroring the nine members of ZILLION and their shared resolve. An opportunity emerged for Tsuyoshi Kitazawa—a former Japanese national soccer team player and current Nadeshiko League executive board member—to have a conversation with ZILLION about the relationship between soccer and music, and the beautiful connection between sports and music. How does Kitazawa, who works tirelessly to get more people to know about and watch the Nadeshiko League, feel about this song? And what feelings did ZILLION pour into “One Day”? We asked them both.

INTERVIEW & TEXT BY Hisakatsu Tanaka / PHOTO BY Nobuyuki Seki

“It’s crucial to have an environment where you can choose your own path in life”

Q: First, could you tell us about the appeal of the Nadeshiko League and what themes you’re currently promoting?

Tsuyoshi Kitazawa: The Weリーグ is Japan’s first women’s professional soccer league, which launched last September. The “Nadeshiko League” is the highest tier of amateur soccer. The players include students and working professionals, and they’re people with diverse lifestyles who come together with a strong passion—that soccer is something they truly love—and they compete. In this day and age, it’s very important to have an environment where individual personalities are respected and people can choose their own way of living. For instance, whether there’s a “place” for them in their second career is a big factor. And on our end as the receiving side, we’re required to create an environment where soccer can be played. When you think about it that way, having a professional league on one hand, and the “Nadeshiko League” on the other—where highly skilled players who aren’t professionals compete—I think that becomes a major appeal.

Q: After watching Nadeshiko League matches, what did the ZILLION members think?

Lion: Everyone could see that the players were students or working various jobs, and they were all coming together as a team to fight for victory—but at the same time, they were visibly enjoying themselves and having fun. That resonates with us too, so watching them, we got fired up and emotional.

“Athletes and artists are really quite similar”

Q: In soccer, there are coaches and managers who figure out how to elevate individual players’ strengths and personalities into team strength. Similarly, ZILLION has audition judge Shota Shimizu as the director figure, plus choreographers and vocal coaches who work to draw out each member’s individuality and strengths. Maybe these are common ground between the two?

Kitazawa: Also, just like singing and dancing don’t come easily to master, both athletes and artists are really quite similar in how they have to build themselves up bit by bit.

Q: ZILLION had some members who were complete dance beginners at the audition stage, right?

Lion: Three of us.

Hiroki: Like Lion mentioned earlier, watching the matches, we really witnessed that sense of unity and the solidarity of moving toward one shared goal. Especially for those of us with no dance background, I think we had some insecurity about performing and dancing on that stage. But including that, it reminded us of the feeling of rallying together as a group and moving forward together, of bringing everyone along. It was inspiring too.

Kitazawa: So you mean you had intensive training and got them performance-ready during the audition period?

Kei: Yeah, from the audition onwards. We were desperately trying to keep up. And with COVID, some lessons went online, which made things even harder.

“It really reaches your heart and strikes something in you”

Q: Kitazawa-san, what was your first impression when you heard “One Day”?

Kitazawa: It might seem obvious, but first I thought—wow, they all sing really well (laughs). By well, I mean when I’ve heard it flowing behind match digests, my mood lifts. The thing is, they put their feelings into the lyrics and the singing and have this incredible ability to communicate. It really reaches your heart and strikes something in you.

Q: What feelings did you put into “One Day”?

Kashin: Even if you work hard, sometimes you hit difficulties and walls. But we want people who hear this song during those times to feel that they’re not alone, that they have teammates, and that everyone can do their best together. We sing with the hope that this song can give that kind of encouragement.

Moka: Within our group, we had the theme of it being a “fight song,” and we’re singing it toward certain people, but it really resonates with us too. We want to encourage the backs of people fighting alongside their comrades, and if we can deliver even a little bit of courage and hope, that’s what we’re hoping for.

“Fight songs also connect to sportsmanship”

Q: You can really feel how ZILLION—having overcome all sorts of things with your teammates to get where you are—are singing this toward yourselves. Is there a lyric in particular that stands out?

Kaora: There’s a line before the chorus that goes “I don’t want regrets, so I’ll keep running / I’m never alone”—and since soccer is ultimately a running sport, it matches really well.

Hiroki: Even though we call it a fight song, it’s not self-centered. It’s more focused on bonds and togetherness, so I think it ties in with sportsmanship too.

“You need the feeling of not wanting regrets each and every time”

Q: Kitazawa-san, was there a particular line in “One Day” that really got to you personally?

Kitazawa: I was originally a “running” player. In a soccer match, any single player only has about five minutes touching the ball. So the rest of the time you’re basically running. During matches, I’d sometimes think, “Does this running even mean anything?” I’d wonder if it was all pointless, or if I didn’t get to play in a match, whether all that running training I’d done was wasted, whether it had any meaning. So rather than thinking about the meaning of running, you need the feeling of not wanting to regret it each and every time—that’s what allows you to achieve your goals. That’s why the line “I don’t want regrets, so I’ll keep running / I’m never alone” really resonates with me. And “just then the path before you opens up”—that feeling of things suddenly opening up really gives me chills.

“We wanted to become people who could give even a little encouragement to those suffering through COVID”

Q: The word “path” came up—could you tell us why Kitazawa-san pursued soccer and why ZILLION pursued the entertainment path?

Luna: I chose music because I’ve loved it since childhood and dreamed of becoming a professional. But I wasn’t really challenging myself. Then COVID happened, and I felt like I had to take action. I auditioned because I wanted to become someone who could give even a little bit of encouragement to people suffering through the pandemic. COVID changed my mindset, and that was the trigger.

Q: Do soccer players similarly take the field with feelings like wanting to cheer someone on or give them courage?

Kitazawa: Before international matches, when I’d sing the national anthem—having been selected among so many soccer players to be one of the eleven on the field—there’s this sense of pride and responsibility I’d feel in that moment. You feel the responsibility of singing the national anthem as a representative of your country. And the fans sing along with you, and you really feel that sense of “fighting together.” When you play without really putting your heart into it, there’s no applause. But even if you lose a match, if you play with all your effort, you get huge applause. That invisible-yet-visible part—that might be the feelings aspect we mentioned earlier. The fact that gets transmitted might be something we have in common.

Q: How old were you when you decided to become a soccer player?

Kitazawa: When I was a kid, the J-League didn’t exist yet. So to make a living from soccer, you had to go overseas—that’s why I had such a strong desire to go abroad. But my hometown (Machida, Tokyo) was a city where soccer thrived, and if I hadn’t been born there, I probably wouldn’t have played soccer at all.

“Now I’m chasing that dream from a support position”

Q: Which turned out to lead to you becoming a national team player, and now you’re in a position where you’re conveying soccer’s appeal to people. It’s like your life equals soccer.

Kitazawa: I’ve always had the desire to win the World Cup. But I couldn’t achieve that during my playing career, so now I’m chasing that dream from a position of backing up and supporting the players. Nadeshiko has won the World Cup, but we need to create even more of an environment where women can play sports. We can’t do that alone—we need the strength and support of everyone, and I’m feeling that strongly lately.

Q: We’d be happy if “One Day” became the battle song for those players. Both you and ZILLION members—do you each have a personal battle song you’d like to share?

Wataru: Mine is Queen’s “We Will Rock You.” I don’t speak English and can’t catch all the lyrics, but when I hear that song, it just pumps me up—”Yeah!”—so during the audition period, I’d always listen to it on mornings when there was judging.

Kitazawa: About not understanding the lyrics (laughs)—during my playing days, when I’d head back to the hotel after a match, I’d often listen to the Eagles’ “Hotel California.” Really shows the era, doesn’t it (laughs). Back then I didn’t really understand the lyrics, but when my mood was down, there was something nice about that melancholic feeling.

Tyra: I have a song by OKAMOTO’S called “Keep On Running.” True to the title, it’s got constant momentum and speed that never lets up, so I listen to it to pump myself up.

Hiroki: Mine is a solo song by Ten from the K-pop group NCT, called “Paint Me Naked.” Ten expresses his own color and identity way more strongly in his solo than in the group. The message about valuing diversity and being true to yourself gives me courage and power, so it’s my battle song.

Kashin: When I’m in a tough spot, I listen to FLOW’s “Sign.” It’s the opening theme for the anime NARUTO -Shippuden, and I love NARUTO. The lyrics are about hitting a wall alone but growing through the support of those around you. When I hear it, I often think—thank goodness I didn’t give up. When you’re feeling down, you get sensitive, so you want positive elements. This song acknowledges the stumbling, but the melody is so roaring and energetic that it gets my engine running again.

“We’d all listen to ZOO’s ‘Choo Choo TRAIN’ together”

Kitazawa: I’m not sure if this counts as a battle song, but during my playing days, our team (Yomiuri Vert) had a lot of Brazilian players. When we’d get on the bus, you’d hear someone tapping a chair, then another sound would come in, then another rhythm would layer on, and gradually this rhythm would build up, and everyone would get into it. That was just daily life for us. We’d arrive at the stadium in a good rhythm like that, and the match would begin. When there was a recent match between the Japanese national team and Brazil, the Brazilian players came off the plane with instruments, doing samba while walking through the airport—it was even on TV. That team had that kind of vibe, so it was more like “let’s all get into it together.” We’d also listen to ZOO’s “Choo Choo TRAIN” together, you know.

Q: So the rhythm gets into your body before the match.

Kitazawa: Even when I’m dribbling, there’s a rhythm in my own body. When you maintain a rhythm, you feel less fatigue, and the opponent can’t read you as easily. If the game flow is one continuous pace and speed, the spectators would get bored too. You need to create variation, so I think it’s important to play while feeling rhythm in yourself.

“Working with the Nadeshiko League has brought depth to the song”

Q: What do you think are the points where the “Nadeshiko League,” ZILLION, and the song “One Day” resonate? What shared spirit do they have?

Hiroki: I think there have always been lots of fight songs and songs that value friendship and bonds. But “One Day” has the concepts of the “Nadeshiko League” and our ZILLION concept—valuing diversity and individuality while never losing our own identities, cherishing group unity and strengthening our bonds—in a way that creates a resonance we hadn’t seen before. Even more, working with the “Nadeshiko League” has brought depth to the song itself.

Q: Kitazawa-san, hearing that comment, what do you think?

Kitazawa: First of all, Hiroki, I’d like to appoint you as an executive board member of the Nadeshiko League (laughs). I think when someone from that generation communicates these ideas to society rather than me saying it, it’s easier for lots of people—especially younger people—to understand. The fact that that generation carries these messages forward is really important. The way ZILLION thinks and speaks—people who will be bearing the future—contains very important keywords. Fundamentally, soccer can’t exist without recognizing each other, without recognizing and accepting diversity. Lately, diversity and mutual recognition have become keywords in how we should live as a society. But with ZILLION, unless the group itself is permissive and accepting, you can’t achieve things. Since this is a group that’s actualizing that, when its members communicate these ideas, it’s like they’re showing how to live in today’s society, and I think everyone finds encouragement in that.

Hiroki: I think about valuing diversity and people’s individual qualities every day, so when I was asked about this project, I felt like I was given a chance to send this message on a large scale. I’m filled with gratitude.

Kitazawa: That’s not just something specific to women’s soccer—it’s wonderful messaging for everyone.

“Everyone is the lead—that’s an amazing concept”

Q: Beyond being on the Nadeshiko League’s executive board, Kitazawa-san also serves as executive board member of the “Japan Women’s Soccer League,” chairperson of the “Japan Disability Soccer Association,” and you’re dedicated to development aid, charity, and social contributions. You’re also the honorary academy director of “eスポーツ学園,” and your motto is to create a world where everyone equally can play soccer. So Hiroki’s comment overlaps with that vision, doesn’t it?

Kitazawa: “Everyone is the lead.” It might seem obvious, but hearing it phrased that way—”everyone is the lead”—is really an amazing concept when you think about it. A long time ago, I told Kazu (Kazuyoshi Miura) something like, “It’s not just you who’s the lead.” And Kazu didn’t get angry. I tend to be emotional, but Kazu isn’t like that. He said to me, “Kii-chan, it’s great that you can burn with intensity like that. I don’t have that in me.” In that moment, I felt respected. When you understand that, the points where you can cooperate become clear, so recognizing and respecting each other is important.

Q: Kazu not getting upset—that’s impressive.

Kitazawa: The fact that he’s accomplished so much anyway—that’s truly amazing. Lately I feel like younger generations often don’t show their emotions openly. When I talk to young people, I get that sense a lot. And ZILLION’s members today are like that too—they speak about what’s deep in their hearts pretty calmly, don’t they?

Q: You’ve been active in both television and YouTube, Kitazawa-san. Do you feel a difference between the two?

Kitazawa: I want to approach it differently so that more people will watch soccer. And environments and grounds alone don’t develop soccer players—so I’m always thinking about what needs to be done for that. That

Read the original Japanese interview on thefirsttimes.jp