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A Japanese cat island made a music video to lure Ed Sheeran

A Japanese cat island made a music video to lure Ed Sheeran

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‘Come to our tiny cat island’ is the new ‘Come to Brazil’

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A tiny cat island in Japan made a delightful promotional video in a sweet, earnest request to get Ed Sheeran to come visit. It’s sort of like the modern equivalent of a siren call, but with sleepy cats. Getting shipwrecked on this island wouldn’t be the worst thing to happen to the Irish singer, who is a noted cat lover and has previously visited Japan’s cat cafes to serenade its residents.

The video, which politely starts by addressing “Mr. Ed Sheeran,” goes on to explain: “Did you know that there is a cat Island in Japan? It’s called Ainoshima. It’s a tiny, tiny island and the size can’t even be compared to Ireland!” Opening with a nice nod to his heritage, it sweetens the deal: there are over 100 cats eagerly waiting for him. The cats are “care-free and full of life,” may fight at times, “yet have so much love for one another.” Sounds like heaven on Earth.

I can’t say I’m one of the 2.2 billion people who have watched the original music video, but I’m gonna go out on a limb and say this one featuring beautifully shot footage of stray cats playfully frolicking on the island’s mountains is probably better. It doesn’t really make too much sense context-wise, but it did get Verge tech editor Natt Garun to admit it was “the first time someone got [her] to listen to this song to its entirety.” So that’s something.

Do give yourself a Friday afternoon break and take a mental vacation to Ainoshima. We’ll report back if Ed Sheeran hears the island’s call and makes a quick stop during his Japan tour in October.