Japan, Soccer and Bit of History

As a soccer fan, I regularly watch World Cup matches in South Africa. This time, it’s between Japan and Paraguay at a stadium in Pretoria.

Japan lost in the penalty kick-off after playing the 90 minute regulation time and 30 minute extra time. Japan’s third spot kicker Yuichi Komano’s ball hit the upper bar of the goal missing a score. When it was Paraguay’s turn in kicking the winning goal, the Japanese team, hands shoulder to shoulder was on their knees praying for a missed shot but their prayers were short.

Footages of crying Japanese fans in the stadium were flashed after the match aside from the unabashed flowing of tears from the faces of the Japanese team.

Guys, it is just a game.

It is just a game but that show of emotion means something more.

I am sorry to remind the past that Imperial Japan had atrocities during World War II especially here in the Philippines. For me past is past and the present Japan has nothing to do with the cruelties of its past leaders and government. In fact, Japan and the Philippines have full diplomatic ties and the Japanese are our prime trading partners here in Asia. Their government has tremendously helped us and continues to help us graciously.

The bombs dropped in Nagasaki and Hiroshima forced Japan to its knees and accepted a bitter and brutal defeat. From then on, Japan metamorphosed into a pacifist nation that today, they are sensitive on the storage of any nuclear missile and the presence of foreign bases in their soil. Since then, Japan has not sent its military for an overseas combat. Threatened by China and North Korea, Japan can excellently defend itself from in-coming missiles but cannot fight a war outside its territory without a quick and devastating defeat. Japan is a proto-nuclear powered state that it can produce nuclear missiles in six months to a year but the Japanese once said that never again that their country will become a world power. Not even the police in Japan are seen in the streets carrying a gun.

You call this discipline.

Despite their defeat, Japan slowly got to its feet and became an economic power not only in Asia but in the world. They still manufacture top of the line cars, machinery and electronics aside from exclusively holding the title as the second richest country in the world.

Japan shed tears of defeat after their  epic match with Paraguay because they wanted to win --- who doesn’t? The attitude to crave for a win is universal but any one familiar with Japanese culture  suggests that they shamed themselves because their effort was short. They go  home to reinvent themselves and  see where they failed and plot new strategies next time they are on the field.

They want excellence.

. . . I remember a Japanese friend (Natsuko) who invited me to her flat for a small party. She was doing a scrambled egg. When she turned the egg tossing it and catching it back on the pan, the egg did not fall on the center but on the edge. I was watching her and every time she made that mistake, she threw away the egg that has nothing wrong with it. After three tries I asked her why she threw away the egg. She said that if her Mom would be present, she scolds her because “she wants me always to do things perfectly.”

That mentality suggests quality.

Japan lost but even if it was just a soccer match, they also showed us to strive for the best in life.

I wish that Filipinos can emulate the Japanese attitude that even though their country was literally torn apart and ready to be submerged, they transformed their country into what it is today.  As Pres. Noynoy Aquino is on the doorstep of presidency, we hope against hope that he can make our country much better. -30-