Japan: East Asian Soccer Champions

I’m not really a big soccer fan.  But yesterday Japan and Korea played the championship game of the East Asian (Soccer) Cup.

So I watched their soccer games on TV yesterday,

Japanese and Korean sports teams have a rivalry…so people in both countries really want their team to win every time these two countries compete.

Countries that play in the East Asian Cup are: Japan, South Korea, North Korea, China, Taipei, Hong Kong, Australia, Guam, Macau, and the North Mariana Islands.

(South) Korea and Japan made it to the final round. They played the championship game in Korea yesterday.

First the women’s teams played.  The South Korean women’s soccer team beat the 「なでしこジャパン」 (Japan women’s soccer team) with a score of 2-1.

But in the men’s championship match, the “Samurai Blue” (Japan men’s soccer team) beat the South Korean men’s soccer team with the same score (2-1).

So, now the Japan men’s soccer team are the 2013 East Asian Cup champions.

Did you watch the games?

Silly political games again …

Yesterday (2012 August 15), was the 67th anniversary of the end of World War II.

And, as is done every August 15th in Tokyo, some Japanese politicans went to the 靖国神社 (Yasukuni Shrine)… which is the shrine in Japan that honors all who died defending Japan in war… to pay tribute.

All who died in Japan’s defense are enshrined there … including those who were found guilty of war crimes by the U.S. war tribunals.

For that reason, many of Japan’s neighboring countries don’t like Yasukuni Shrine … and get upset when Japanese politicans visit it.

But really, the shrine doesn’t exclude war dead based on another country’s war court verdict … in the same way that all of America’s soldiers who die in battle can be buried at Arlington Cemetary, all of Japan’s soldiers are honored at Yasukuni Shrine.

But that isn’t the only political debate neighboring countries have with Japan.
China, Russia and South Korea have border disputes with Japan.

After their victory over the Japanese team at the Olympics,  a player on South Korea’s Olympic soccer team held up a sign declaring that the disputed Takeshima Island is Korean territory.  The Korean team almost lost their medal because of that.
Then, the South Korean president visited the island – – unannounced visits to disputed land by a political leader isn’t probably a wise move.
And then, yesterday … the anniversary of the end of World War II, some Korean men attempted to swim to the island. They didn’t make it there, so Japan didn’t need to take any action … but their attempt made the news.

And then yesterday, a Chinese boat was intercepted by the Japanese Coast Guard as it tried to head to the Senkaku Islands … which is disputed land between Japan and China.
The Chinese people onboard are currently in a Japanese jail. China is demanding that they be freed.

This seems to happen every year at this time.

Towers around the world to be illuminated for Japan

Towers and skyscrapers around the world will be illuminated in white and red to show their country’s support for Japan’s recovery from the disaster of 2011 March 11.

At sunset tonight (Monday, 2011 April 4) in each country’s local time, the Empire State Building in New York City, America, the Sky Tower in New Zealand, the Menara Kuala Lumpur Tower in Malayasia, the North Tower in South Korea, the CN Tower in Canada, the Macau Tower in China, the John Hancock Observatory in America and the Spinnaker Tower in England will all be lit up in the colors of the Japanese flag.

the Empire State Building in NYC, America illuminated in the colors of Japan's flag.

Do you live near any of these towers? Did you know they will be illuminated in white and red for Japan today?

Top news stories of 2010

It’s almost 2011. It seems that 2010 just flew by! But maybe it only feels that way because I’m getting older. 😉
What would you say were the biggest news stories of 2010?
Which stories were covered by the news media extensively where you live? Which stories affected you the most?

As for me, I think I’d say that 2010’s biggest headlines were:

• North Korea attacked South Korea in November 2010.
  I live in Japan and Korea is the nearest country to us. So if the Korean War were to restart, it could affect Japan.

  Norea Korea bombed South Korea, Nov. 2010

• Haiti Earthquake
  On 2010 January 12, a major earthquake struck the country of Haiti. Over 90,000 people died.
  Japan is an earthquake-prone country. I think they are the worst of the natural disasters since they can strike anytime without warning.

• Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico
  In April 2010, a major oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico caused over 4 million barrels of oil to pollute the water and cause immense damage to the eco-system.
  I grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida.

Which news stories do you think were 2010’s biggest?

Sporting event news

Did you watch the 2010 Olympics women’s figure skating event?

It was probably the biggest event of these Olympics in both Japan and Korea.

Japan’s best skater 19 year-old Mao Asada competed against Korea’s star Kim Yu-na, who is also 19 years old.

Of course, both Japan and Korea were sure that the skater from their country would win the gold medal for this event.

In the end though, Korean Kim Yu-na won the gold and Japan’s Mao Asada won silver. Canadian Joannie Rochette got the bronze medal.

Asada Mao is in the black dress.

Mao Asada tried her best and she did two “triple axel” jumps. It’s her signature jump and she is the only current women’s skater in the world who can do that particular jump.
She executed the triple axels perfectly, but she tripped up and almost fell at another point during her rountine and it cost her points.

Mao Asada skating in the 2010 Olympics women's figure skating event.

The 2010 Olympics will be over tomorrow. Japan currently has a total of four medals from these games…two silver and two bronze.
It looks like Japan won’t be taking any gold from these games.

***

Also, tomorrow is the day of the annual “Tokyo Marathon“.

32,000 people will running 42 km through the streets of Tokyo.

This year a friend of mine will be running in the marathon.
ガンバレヒデキさん！ (Good luck, Hideki!)

***
And the pitcher from the Japanese baseball team, the Chunichi Dragons, Maximo Nelson (from the Dominican Republic) was arrested yesterday for bringing a bullet in his luggage in the airport in Okinawa (where he was going for his team’s spring training).

Japan is very strict with it’s drug and firearms laws.

***

Speaking of Okinawa, there was a very big earthquake in Okinawa this morning.
Hopefully everyone is OK.

***

Different subject, but I finally admitted that my eyesight isn’t what it used to be and got eyeglasses yesterday.
So, now, for the first time, I wear glasses for reading.

I can’t deny that I’m getting older. 😦

World Baseball Classic ’09

Do you know what the World Baseball Classic is?

World Baseball Classic logo

It’s a new international baseball competition. Like soccer’s World Cup.

The World Baseball Classic 2009 started today.
This is only the second time that the World Baseball Classic occurred.
The World Baseball Classic 2006 was the first and only other time this competition took place so far.

Japan was the champion team of the World Baseball Classic 2006 games.

The first game of the World Baseball Classic 2009 was Japan vs China. This game took place this afternoon (Japan time) at the Tokyo Dome.

Japan beat China with a final score of 4-0.
The next game will be Korea vs Taipei, also at the Tokyo Dome. Japan will face the winning team of that game on March 7th (again at the Tokyo Dome).

At the Tokyo Dome

The Japan team has high hopes of winning the World Baseball Classic again.

The host cities for the World Baseball Classic ’09 are Tokyo, Japan; Mexico City, Mexico; Toronto, Canada; San Juan, Puerto Rico; San Diego, USA; Miami, USA; and Los Angeles, USA.

The countries that have teams competing are: Japan (with Ichiro Suzuki and Daisuke Matsuzaka on the team), South Korea, China, Taipei, Australia, Canada, USA, Mexico, Dominican Republic (with Alex Rodriguez on the team), Cuba, Italy, The Netherlands, Panama, Puerto Rico, Venezuela, and South Africa.

The World Baseball Classic 2009 will go from today’s game that Japan won until the final in Los Angeles on March 23, 2009.

Do you like baseball?
Are you following the World Baseball Classic? Which team are you supporting?
Did you watch the Japan vs China game today? If so, did you watch it on TV…or were you at the Tokyo Dome?

By the way, if you wanna visit the official World Baseball Classic homepage…then, click here.