Octogenarian DJ thrills crowds on Tokyo's club scene

Japanese grandma spins records at Tokyo clubs under the moniker DJ Sumirock.

The Japanese octogenarian spins tunes for crowds a fraction of her age in a Tokyo nightclub.
TRT World and Agencies

The Japanese octogenarian spins tunes for crowds a fraction of her age in a Tokyo nightclub.

By day, Sumiko Iwamuro runs a Chinese restaurant, where she has worked for 60 years making dumplings, while by night, she spins records at Tokyo clubs under the moniker DJ Sumirock.

But the juggling of long days and frenzied nights is not the most inspiring thing about Iwamuro.

She is also 82-year-old.

Japan is known for its ageing demographic, with people aged 65 and above making up 26.6 percent of the population in 2015.

A prime example of an active senior, Iwamuro plays to crowds mostly 60 years younger than she is at the DecaBarZ nightclub in the heart of Tokyo's Shinjuku district.

"It's fundamentally techno. But just that would be boring so I add jazz, French chanson, and today I've added a bit of classical music," she says.

TRT World's Denee Savoia has her story.

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