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Translation into Japanese

Hi Benjamin and all,

I think that what sets Seiko apart from just about any other singer you can
name, Japanese or ortherwise, is that she began in the entertainment world as
a very young woman who did exactly as she was told. All of the decisions were
made for her...all that was required was for her to show up and perform.

Then she did something that hadn't been done before and no one expected...

She stood on her own two feet, wrote and produced her own music, and took full
and unapologetic control over her image. It is that single act that made her a
role model and heroine to so many young women around the world (and made her
"The Madonna of Japan" and "The Dragon Lady" to all of those who fear anyone
who has the courage to break free from a society that functions primarily on its
dependence on people CONFORMING..."following the rules").

What Seiko did can best be summed up in Eddie Van Halen's advice to aspiring
young guitarists: "First, learn the rule book. Then throw the book away."

Seiko did that, and she was loved and hated for it. 

After Seiko came Namie Amuro. She too followed the rules, but her mentor was
a man who squandered his once-awesome talent on a thirst for the "California
Rock Star" lifestyle and a never-ending supply of party drugs. She got
pregnant, took a year off to have the baby, and her fans promptly forgot about
her. She still records and performs but it is doubtful that she will ever
reach the heights of "Sweet 19 Blues" or "Can You Celebrate" again, because
while she was taking that year off (and TK was getting high on the balcony of
his new California beach front home)...

Ayumi Hamasaki and Hikaru Utada were hard at work in the studio and on the
concert stage. Namie was on her way to becoming the star that Ayumi is right
now. The difference between Seiko and Ayumi is that Seiko did all of the hard
work, took all of the chances...it was NOT a challenge and it did NOT require
sacrifice for Ayumi to step forward and say "I am a woman, I have talent, and
I AM IN CONTROL of my career." She can thank Seiko for opening that door. It
is no longer a shocking or controversial thing for a Japanese woman to speak
her own mind, follow her own heart. "Time" magazine now has cover stories on
Ayumi and her role as a performer and "businesswoman." Seiko gets mentioned in
passing as the woman who made it all possible.

Ayumi and Hikaru have the talent to ENDURE, but we will have to see if they
have the talent to MATURE. Seiko's music changed. Listen to "Forever Live."
I have heard that Seiko was not feeling well, had a cold or something when this
performance was filmed, but listen to "Koisuru Omoi~Fall In Love~. Her voice is
raw, she sounds weary, but the emotion...the naked, pure emotion...is enough to
break your heart. Will Ayumi and Hikaru touch their fans this way when they
are in their 30s and 40s? The decision is theirs alone. They will grow, or like
so many other young and pretty Japanese girls before them, they will disappear.

The success of Area 62 is not that it is a great album, or that it is the
best performance of Seiko's career. The TRUE success is that Seiko can now say
"LOOK...I am on the radio, I am in the clubs, I am on the charts." That kind
of power will allow her to make the next album, and the next, and the next...

The secret of life, my friends, really is "Fight and Believe" and nothing more.
Believe in yourself. Believe in whatever God you choose to believe in. Never,
never give up on your dreams. Fight for them. Stop fighting when you die, but
not before. Everything is possible if you NEVER GIVE UP.

Best regards and happy holidays,

Mike (and don't miss the 2002 Seiko Holiday Card on SMF Phase III!)

Date:11/26/1998. Benjamin 's message 

>Dear all,
>
>Many of us may remember Mike's long message on Seiko,
>on how she makes her dreams come true and how she's
>different from those one-or-two songs success.
>
>I read his message again and can link with Seiko recent
>success on 'All to You'.  Who would match an artist 
>like Seiko?  At the age of 40 she still never give up
>on her conquest in the US.  Who would imagine an 
>foreign artist in this age hitting the Top 20 of 
>Billboard chart?  But in her heart and in her music
>she is telling us age is never a negative factor.
>Although it is too earlier to tell, but I believe
>artist like Hamasaki and Hikaru will probably be
>out of the business in the 40s and takeover by 
>the 'new' idols.
>
>Benjamin