Why 35+ Don't Know Mrs. GREEN APPLE's "Ao to Natsu" Reaching 1 Billion Streams – It's the Same Structure as "Instructions Not Reaching Younger Staff" at Work

In January 2026, Mrs. GREEN APPLE's "Ao to Natsu" surpassed 1 billion cumulative streams. However, many managers in their 40s and 50s are unaware of this song. It's not because they "didn't try to know it," but because it "didn't reach their channel." Keihiro Hirakou (Representative of Selection & Variation Co., Ltd.), an HR consultant, sees the same structure in this phenomenon as the reason why youth development fails in modern workplaces. Overview —Excerpt from Selection & Variation Official Insight— "They only do what they're told," "They can't read the room" – these complaints from managers actually misidentify the core of the problem. In past workplaces, spending long hours in the same space naturally fostered a common language that "conveyed things without needing to be said." However, today's younger generation is not in that environment. The failure to reach them is not an issue with the younger generation's attitude, but a problem with the sender's channel settings.

Why does Mrs. GREEN APPLE's song reach young people? By leveraging TikTok, becoming the theme song for movies, and entering daily life – this is a result of design, not chance. Youth development is the same; before lamenting "Why don't they understand?", a shift in thinking is needed to consider "How can we make it reach them?", points out Hirakou.

Details are available on the Selection & Variation Official Insight. https://sele-vari.co.jp/insight/ao_to_natsu_1billion/ About Selection & Variation Co., Ltd. An HR consulting firm with high expertise specializing in the "organization and HR domain." We support transformations that contribute to strategy realization and performance improvement for companies of various industries and sizes, from TSE Prime-listed companies to small and medium-sized enterprises with dozens of employees.

We promote transformations related to people and organizations, such as corporate HR strategy formulation, HR system design, HR system operation, organizational culture improvement, and executive education.

Supporting reforms based on early adoption of "Job-Based Employment" In the 1990s, when performance-based HR systems were spreading, Representative Hirakou was an early adopter in implementing HR systems compatible with job-based employment for a major electronics manufacturer. Since then, he has supported the transformation of over 200 companies by questioning whether "companies can truly grow" and "what HR can do to drive business and generate profits" in relation to new graduate hiring, seniority-based promotions, regular salary increases, and lifetime employment.

Now, we are supporting management reforms to turn the crisis into an opportunity for growth, based on the changes in working styles and lifestyles brought about by the COVID-19 shock.

Partial list of support achievements for companies from FY2020 onwards Pharmaceutical industry (TSE Prime-listed) IT platformer (TSE Prime-listed) Specialized trading company (TSE Prime-listed) System development industry (TSE Prime-listed) Audit corporation-affiliated consulting firm Telecommunications construction industry (TSE Prime-listed) Other unlisted companies (manufacturing, service industries, etc.)

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