First he made the ballsy move of following through with his tour dates in Japan despite radiation concerns. Now Justin Bieber has taken it a step further. The tween pop star took time out of his
hectic schedule to meet with children who had been affected by the earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
Bieber stuck to his guns and performed for a sold-out crowd in Osaka yesterday, then sat down to talk with almost a dozen Japanese children today before performing another sold-out show in Tokyo's Budokan, Reuters reports. Several of the kids were from Otsuchi, which was one of the towns most devastated by the disaster.
Bieber met with the fans at the U.S. ambassador's residence, where he called them "an inspiration" and assured them, "Things can get better and things will get better. There are only good times to come."
One of the children, a boy from Otsuchi, read a card to the star.
"We have friends who lost their family and their homes, some have left our school. The town is covered with wreckage and it will take a long time to get back to normal," he read. "But we will work hard for this. Please give us courage through your music."
Bieber later tweeted about the experience, writing, "Just met some incredible kids who have been thru alot because of the devastation here in Japan. blessed to meet them and proud to know them." He continued, "When you meet kids like that..with all their strength and courage to move on you realize the important things in life." (sic) In a third tweet, he dedicated his song 'Pray' to them.
Japan is still recovering after being rocked by one of the most powerful earthquakes in recorded history on March 11. The subsequent tsunami sparked an ongoing nuclear crisis after damaging several reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. Over 25,000 people died or went missing as a result.
