Hiromi Iwasaki -- Koi wa Senso （恋は戦争）

At the time I taped this song along with the rest of that "Sounds of Japan" episode from CHIN-FM in 1982, I'd only known Hiromi Iwasaki （岩崎宏美）for her 2 gentle ballads of "Sumire Iro no Namida"（すみれ色の涙）and "Madonna Tachi no Lullaby" （マドンナたちのララバイ）. Therefore, hearing the singer fly through "Koi wa Senso" (Love Is War) was a surprise.

https://itunes.apple.com/jp/album/%E5%A4%95%E6%9A%AE%E3%82%8C%E3%81%8B%E3%82%89-%E3%81%B2%E3%81%A8%E3%82%8A-original-track-listing/id254333469

(excerpt only)

Unfortunately, I used a particularly well-worn audiotape that made my cheapo Canadian Tire tapes seem like the finest Chromium Dioxide tapes by SONY for the show and the reception of the radio station was not at its best that night. So, it was basically listening to the song with one ear jammed next to one speaker and one hand restlessly jiggling the tuning knob. The result was a static-filled taping with the song weaving in and out of aural range. Radio wa senso!

But because of that poor reception and what would still turn out to be a fairly atypical arrangement for Iwasaki to tackle, I was fairly obsessed with "Koi wa Senso" for many years. I would gradually hear the singer's earlier disco-tinged kayo from the late 70s and so would learn that she also had performed very upbeat material, but I don't think I ever heard Iwasaki try a similar song to this 1982 entry with the slappy synth-drums and the keyboards bristling away at Mach 1. Still, she handled the tune with aplomb. Her remarkable vocals (love the intro) flitted over the busy melody by Toshio Kamei（亀井登志夫）like a very experienced skylark. And the lyrics by Chinfa Kan （康珍化）illustrate a woman who will do anything to get the man she wants. I could see a fight on the dance floor between two disco queens.

It took me years and years but I was finally able to get my pristine copy of the song when remastered CDs of Iwasaki's early discography came out in the stores. "Koi wa Senso" is a track on her 11th album, "Yugure kara....Hitori"（夕暮れから。。。ひとり/From Twilight...Alone）which came out in July 1982. The original LP got as high as No. 4 on Oricon.