“I can’t believe it. Sugoi (great)!”
In the third final match of the group stage of the World Cup 2022 World Cup Qatar, when the Japanese national football team beat Germany and even Spain, the world football powerhouse, to advance to the round of 16 as No. 1 in Group E, all of these. Japan entered a crucible of enthusiasm.
At 6:00 am on the 2nd, when the whistle blew to end the match against Spain, thousands of fans gathered in Shibuya, Tokyo, where soccer fans gather the most, chanted “Oh~ Nippon (Japan)” and enjoying the victory. When the green traffic light came on at the scramble intersection, a world famous scramble intersection, strangers gave each other high fives as they crossed the street. Even the ‘DJ Police’ police officers sent to prepare for security incidents and maintain order became brighter.
A man in his 30s who said he had gone to work said, “I watched the game without sleeping. I was very impressed. I’m on my way to work, but I’m not tired at all.” A woman in her 20s said, “The extra time (7 minutes) in the second half was so long that I felt like my heart would explode. If I win in the round of 16, I think I’ll really cry.”
On Twitter, the word ‘Nihon Maji’, which means ‘Japan is real?’, is first in real-time search terms. “This was my course (pass on my favorite course),” said Doan Ritz (Freiburg, Germany) in an interview, who scored the equalizer in the second half, has also become a major online search term.
Japan’s Prime Minister, Fumio Kishida, posted a video of himself on the phone with national team coach Hajime Moriyasu on his YouTube channel this morning. Prime Minister Kishida said, “I have been watching since morning, and I sincerely congratulate you on your historic victory.” The Yomiuri Shimbun and others produced emergency extras and distributed them throughout the city.
Tokyo = Correspondent Lee Sang-hoon sanghun@donga.com
