The final 8 places of the Football World Cup have been won and unfortunately Japan has not made it. Japan was arguably Asia’s last hope. Japan’s rise in Asian and even World football is a remarkable story. I have commissioned my very own brother (the in-house football expert) to narrate this story. He follows football around the world very closely. So, brace yourself for a long and interesting story over many posts.
Given that football is the world’s most popular sport (FIFA currently has 207 member nations), it should come as no surprise that the ‘Beautiful Game’ has its own special place in the ‘Land of the Rising Sun’. This has however not always been the case with ‘Sakka’ (Soccer in Japanese). Traditionally, baseball and Sumo wrestling have always enjoyed a huge fan following which continues to be the case to this day. Baseball’s huge following can be traced back to the US occupying forces Americans introducing and popularising the sport in Japan. Football though, was slightly late to the party, but has seen its stock rise in Japan considerably since.
The Emperor’s cup along with some promotional material
Armchair Japanophile 