In Japan, "salarymen" means ordinary office workers. These white-collar workers are seen as hard-working, but rather, well, ordinary.
在日本，“salarymen”是指普通的上班族。这些白领通常都很勤奋，但也很普通。
However, two so-called "salarymen" are now among Japan's biggest TikTok stars.
然而，现在日本最大的 TikTok 明星中有两名就是所谓的“工薪族”。
The leader and a general manager at the small Japanese company Daikyo Security have been recognized as trend-setters by the online video-sharing site TikTok.
日本小公司 Daikyo Security 的领导人和总经理，现在被在线视频共享网站 TikTok 认定为引领潮流的人。
The creator of the account is chief executive Daisuke Sakurai.
该帐户的创建者是公司CEO樱井大辅。
On the company's TikTok page you can watch Sakurai and general manager Tomohiko Kojima do funny dances or eat noodles. In another video, workers cook up a tasty egg dish.
在该公司的 TikTok 页面上，您可以观看樱井和总经理小岛智彦跳有趣的舞蹈或吃面条。在另一段视频中，员工们正在烹制美味的鸡蛋菜。
The videos all show the happy but simple life of ordinary working men and women. And these people do not seem to take themselves too seriously.
这些视频都展示了普通劳动人民幸福而简单的生活。但这些人似乎并没有把自己太当回事。
The content might make people laugh. But Sakurai is serious about strengthening the company's image and getting new people to work at the company. He believes those goals must be met for the company's survival.
内容可能会让人发笑。但樱井对于加强公司形象和招聘新人是认真的。他认为，为了公司的生存，必须实现这些目标。
Before TikTok, the number of people seeking jobs at Daikyo Security was zero. After TikTok, the company gets many requests for employment, including people who want to work on the videos.
在开通 TikTok 之前，来 Daikyo Security 求职的人数为零。开通 TikTok 之后，公司收到了许多求职信息，其中包括想要制作视频的人。
Sakurai has his eyes on global workers. He wants to draw workers from places like Vietnam and Indonesia. And he is permitting them to use English instead of Japanese.
樱井面向全球招工。他希望从越南和印度尼西亚等地吸引员工。他允许他们使用英语而不是日语。
Founded in 1967, the company has 85 employees. Most of them do what is called "three K" work in Japan, Sakurai says. That stands for "kitsui, kitanai, kiken," meaning, "hard, dirty, and dangerous."
该公司成立于1967年，现有员工85人。他们中的大多数人在日本从事所谓的“三K”工作，樱井说。“三K”指的是“kitsui，kitanai，kiken”，意思是“坚硬、肮脏和危险的”。
Such work includes security at building sites. The guards direct traffic and make sure trucks and equipment move safely without accident or injury. The job does not require very special skills. But the positions are hard to fill. Many people do not want to stand outdoors for hours and hours. And, there are many security companies competing for employees.
此类工作包括建筑工地的安保工作。工作内容主要为指挥交通并确保卡车和设备安全移动，避免发生事故或人员受伤。这项工作虽然不需要非常特殊的技能，但却很难填补。许多人不愿意在户外站几个小时。并且，有许多安保公司在争夺员工。
Japan's population is aging quickly. As a result, every industry is suffering a labor shortage.
日本人口正在迅速老龄化。结果，每个行业都面临劳动力短缺的问题。
So, why not turn to social media, the place where young people hang out? Sakurai started posting on Twitter and Instagram. But it was when he went on TikTok that things went viral.
那么，为什么不转向社交媒体这个年轻人出没的地方呢?樱井开始在 Twitter 和 Instagram 上发帖。直到他开通 TikTok 后，事情才传播开来。
In one popular video, Kojima slaps pieces of thin colorful plastic, called gel sheets, onto his boss's face over his eyes. Each sheet has the eyes of a comic book character. The subtitles in English ask: "What is the character?".
在一个受欢迎的视频中，小岛将一块薄的彩色塑料片(称为凝胶片)贴在老板的脸上，遮住眼睛。每张纸上都有漫画人物的眼睛。英文字幕问：“这个角色是什么?”。
The videos have a clear message: These company workers do not take themselves too seriously. This may go against the image of a serious work environment where lower-level employees and more powerful ones do not joke around together. Well, at Daikyo Security, a worker gets to slap gel sheets on the company chief.
这些视频都传达了一个明确的信息：这些公司员工并没有把自己太当回事。这可能与严肃的工作环境不符，一般低级别员工不会和更有权势的员工一起开玩笑。好吧，在 Daikyo Security，一名员工却在公司负责人身上贴凝胶片。
The videos are also helping the company connect with a much larger audience.
这些视频还有助于公司与更多的观众建立联系。
A recent video features gel sheets with several nations' flags on them to the sounds of World's Smallest Violin, a pop song by American group AJR. That video led to thousands of comments and millions of views.
在最近的一段视频中，伴随着美国AJR乐队的一首流行歌曲《World's Smallest Violin》的声音，凝胶片上显示了几个国家的国旗。该视频引发了数千条评论和数百万次浏览量。
When they showed a flag from Mongolia, viewers from Mongolia showed their appreciation in the comments. Others requested their favorite flags, such as Lithuania or Lebanon.
当他们展示蒙古国旗时，来自蒙古的观众在评论中表达了他们的赞赏。其他人则要求使用他们最喜欢的旗帜，例如立陶宛或黎巴嫩。
It is a sign TikTok has helped Daikyo Security overcome language and cultural barriers by making people laugh.
这表明 TikTok 通过幽默的方式，帮助 Daikyo Security 克服了语言和文化障碍。
"What makes my job worthwhile is that it's about people," Kojima said, "...not things."
小岛说：“我的工作之所以有价值，是因为它与人有关而不是事物。”
I'm Anna Matteo.
安娜·马特奥报道。
In Japan, "salarymen" means ordinary office workers. These white-collar workers are seen as hard-working, but rather, well, ordinary.
However, two so-called "salarymen" are now among Japan's biggest TikTok stars.
The leader and a general manager at the small Japanese company Daikyo Security have been recognized as trend-setters by the online video-sharing site TikTok.
The creator of the account is chief executive Daisuke Sakurai.
On the company's TikTok page you can watch Sakurai and general manager Tomohiko Kojima do funny dances or eat noodles. In another video, workers cook up a tasty egg dish.
The videos all show the happy but simple life of ordinary working men and women. And these people do not seem to take themselves too seriously.
The content might make people laugh. But Sakurai is serious about strengthening the company's image and getting new people to work at the company. He believes those goals must be met for the company's survival.
Before TikTok, the number of people seeking jobs at Daikyo Security was zero. After TikTok, the company gets many requests for employment, including people who want to work on the videos.
Sakurai has his eyes on global workers. He wants to draw workers from places like Vietnam and Indonesia. And he is permitting them to use English instead of Japanese.
Founded in 1967, the company has 85 employees. Most of them do what is called "three K" work in Japan, Sakurai says. That stands for "kitsui, kitanai, kiken," meaning, "hard, dirty, and dangerous."
Such work includes security at building sites. The guards direct traffic and make sure trucks and equipment move safely without accident or injury. The job does not require very special skills. But the positions are hard to fill. Many people do not want to stand outdoors for hours and hours. And, there are many security companies competing for employees.
Japan's population is aging quickly. As a result, every industry is suffering a labor shortage.
So, why not turn to social media, the place where young people hang out? Sakurai started posting on Twitter and Instagram. But it was when he went on TikTok that things went viral.
In one popular video, Kojima slaps pieces of thin colorful plastic, called gel sheets, onto his boss's face over his eyes. Each sheet has the eyes of a comic book character. The subtitles in English ask: "What is the character?".
The videos have a clear message: These company workers do not take themselves too seriously. This may go against the image of a serious work environment where lower-level employees and more powerful ones do not joke around together. Well, at Daikyo Security, a worker gets to slap gel sheets on the company chief.
The videos are also helping the company connect with a much larger audience.
A recent video features gel sheets with several nations' flags on them to the sounds of World's Smallest Violin, a pop song by American group AJR. That video led to thousands of comments and millions of views.
When they showed a flag from Mongolia, viewers from Mongolia showed their appreciation in the comments. Others requested their favorite flags, such as Lithuania or Lebanon.
It is a sign TikTok has helped Daikyo Security overcome language and cultural barriers by making people laugh.
"What makes my job worthwhile is that it's about people," Kojima said, "...not things."
I'm Anna Matteo.
Yuri Kageyama reported this story from Tokyo for the Associated Press. Anna Matteo adapted it for VOA Learning English.
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Words in This Story
white-collar - adj. of, relating to, or constituting the class of salaried employees whose duties do not call for the wearing of work clothes or protective clothing
manager - n. a person whose work or profession is management
trend-setter - n. one that sets a trend : someone or something that starts or helps to popularize a new fashion, style, movement, etc.
noodle - n. a thin often flat strip of fresh or dried dough (as of flour and egg) that is usually boiled
slap - v. to strike sharply with or as if with the open hand
character - n. a person in a story or play
appreciation - n. awareness or understanding of worth or value
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