Considering he's been out of work for over seven months, you'd expect Yusuke Ozaki's harmonica playing to hit a melancholic note.
Yet, Ozaki prefers a more upbeat, jazzy style. "I want to play a more cheerful kind of music," the 24-year-old said after entertaining a handful of passersby in a Tokyo park. "These days, we all need something to cheer us up, right?"
Indeed, while a suitable anthem for today's Japan might be an extended version of B.B. King's "Recession Blues," the harmonica is striking a more cheerful note for the nation's equally sluggish musical instrument industry.