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Japan Forward
20-07-2025
- Sport
- Japan Forward
Inspired by 'Just a Man'
このページを 日本語 で読む JAPAN Forward has launched "Ignite," a series to share the voices of students in Japan in English. Inspired by their own experiences, what do they see beyond our obvious differences, disabilities, and insecurities? Individually and collectively, today's students will shape our global future. Let's listen. This fifth essay introduces another winning work of the Institute for International Business Communication (IIBC) high school student English essay contest. In the following essay, high school student Shigeo Nonaka credits a perfect stranger with one leg and twin children for helping him overcome his fears and insecurities. The encounter, in Vietnam, changed his outlook and may change yours. Fifth in the Series, 'Ignite' Shigeo Nonaka, Winner of the 2024 IIBC Superior Essay Award for his English essay. Always worried and embarrassed about what people think of me, I couldn't be friends with the ball. The sweltering heat in Vietnam distorted the air in the distance. With the enemy in front of me, I had to beat him to a pulp somehow. As I had stylishly demonstrated during recess, I straddled the ball a couple of times, got my feet tangled up, and fell over. The rubber chips of the artificial turf bounced off into my mouth, which felt disgusting. I looked up to see my adversary smirking with a thin smile that held a touch of disdain. "Embarrassing," I thought, "I'm done." I wanted to run away already. So I quit the Japanese football club and joined a team with only Vietnamese players. I crouched down between the messy protective netting, and it was a small futsal-size court. A red motorbike was perched at the foot of a lamppost outside. It was a large one, carrying what looked like iron bars on either side. A small man with a shaved head was carrying two twins in the red uniform of the Vietnamese national football team on a motorcycle. They were a father and his kids, very Vietnamese. However, the moment the man got off the bike and put his feet on the ground, my eyes were glued to his lower body. I could see the ground where his left leg should be, and I realized the man was missing one leg. He was approaching me, flanked by crutches that I had earlier mistaken for iron bars on the bike's decoration. "Nihonjin-desu-ka?" the man asked in Japanese. When I said yes, he smiled and said, "Nakata!" — a Japanese footballer from some time ago. The man's name was Duc. He was one half of a conjoined twin, so he had only one leg. He became famous after undergoing surgery in Japan, which is why he could speak Japanese. When I was surprised by this unexpected encounter, he asked me to practice passing together. "Nakata! Pass!" he laughed. He stood confidently in front of the goal on crutches. And when I hesitantly kicked a soft pass to him, he slapped me with a powerful pass, as if to kick away my hesitation. I responded with a strong ball this time. As we exchanged passes, his face came alive. His passes were inevitably rough, but he didn't care about that — he simply loved the game. Seeing him happy made me feel ashamed of having been reserved toward him. Before he is disabled, he is just a man. He bounced around on crutches, gamely chasing the ball and passing to me. His honest, powerful passes seemed to inspire me to be myself. I felt the impact of the ball through my ankles and across my body and thought, "I love football." When we finished practicing passes, he said, "I haven't had this much fun playing football in a long time, Nakata!" He then got on his bike and dashed back home with the twins. Outside, where thousands of power lines were tangled, a horde of motorcycles roared in disorder, and he was among them. He was able to bring his children to this futsal court because, despite his missing leg, he was allowed to drive a motorcycle. In Japan, people are protected by regulations. But in Vietnam, this free-spiritedness allows people like Duc to live freely. From that day on, we played football together every week. Six years later, I'm in Japan now. I have retired from football, just as Nakata did. [And] I have found something new that I like. You're the one who taught me to love something. Just the other day, I saw you again on the cinema screen in a film about your life. So, I'm writing this now because I can't help the memories from pouring out of me. You look a little older now, but you're smiling like you did then. Your twins, Fuji and Sakura, are much taller now. They grew up fine, didn't they? You must be a good dad. Well, even in the cinema, you're still just a man to me. But hey, because of you, I can walk on these two legs today, Duc. Shigeo Nonaka is a student at Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School in Tokyo. Upon receiving the IIBC Superior Essay Award, he commented: This essay was a challenge for me. I deliberately used a slightly casual colloquial style to portray the way of life of a man named Duc in the Vietnamese landscape. Later, I left Vietnam, lived in Myanmar, encountered a military coup, and returned to Japan without even saying goodbye to my friends. I learned that peace is not something to be taken for granted. Because I know the breathing of people who live strong lives within barriers, I want to put that into words and convey it. Hopefully, that is a small step towards creating a society without borders. I am grateful that my humble thoughts were accepted, and I will continue to learn and grow. Author: Shigeo Nonaka Seigakuin Junior & Senior High School このページを 日本語 で読む
New York Times
18-03-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Why Hidetoshi Nakata, face of the 2002 World Cup, retired at 29: ‘I'm not a fan of football'
'I never had a dream to become a professional footballer, but somehow it happened and I played in World Cups and I went to Italy and England. I played all the time for passion. I'm not a fan of football, I like to play football. That's the reason I left, I had lost the passion. If I didn't have the passion, it was like I was lying to myself.' Advertisement Hidetoshi Nakata, one of football's trailblazers, retired from playing when he was just 29. His last game was for Japan at the 2006 World Cup in Germany, a 4-1 defeat against Brazil in their final group game. He had decided he was going to retire six months earlier but only told a close inner circle. When the final whistle came, he dabbed his tears with a swapped Brazil shirt in the middle of the Dortmund pitch. Nakata's footballing journey was at an end but there have never been any regrets, doubts, or desire to turn back the clock. Following that Brazil loss, he dropped out of football altogether. 'What I love is to play, not to coach, or to comment,' he says. 'That's the reason I said after retirement, 'No, I need to find another passion'.' Here, he tells The Athletic about his complicated relationship with the sport that turned him into a global icon. It all started in Japan, where the league only became professional in 1993 and whose national team had never participated in a World Cup. 'At that time, no one dreamed about becoming a professional footballer,' Nakata says. 'The No 1 sport in Japan was baseball. But in the end, I loved the manga cartoon Captain Tsubasa (about a young boy who became a famous footballer), so then I decided to play football.' Nakata, now 48, grew up in the Yamanashi Prefecture, near the famous Mount Fuji, two hours from Tokyo. He began his professional career at J-League side Bellmare Hiratsuka, where he played for four years, helping them win their only major continental title, the 1995 Asian Cup Winners' Cup. A gifted playmaker, he appeared for his country at the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta but it was his performances at the 1998 France World Cup — Japan's first appearance in international football's biggest tournament — and his shock of dyed hair that caught the eye in Europe. 'I was changing my hair colour every single day (even before the World Cup) but it was important to be known in the world because I wanted to play overseas,' he says. 'So I was hoping to get spotted.' Immediately after the World Cup, Nakata was signed by Italian side Perugia, promoted to Serie A, for $4million (£3.1m at today's exchange rates). He had an outstanding first season, scoring 10 goals from midfield, including two on his debut — but off the field, swapping Japan for Italy was a culture shock. Advertisement 'If you come to Japan, you can see how different it is from Italy. Japanese people are on time, everything's like…' He makes a gesture indicating orderliness. 'Italian people are more like, 'Whatever'. It was a big change but the football was the same. Football is the same all over the world.' Nakata was 21 when he moved to Italy but was not daunted. 'I was not a huge fan of football, I didn't watch football or read about it in the newspapers, I'm not that kind of person,' Nakata explains. 'I just loved to play football and I just wanted to become a better player every day. 'When I arrived in Italy, the Italian league was the best in the world, there were players like Zinedine Zidane and Alessandro Del Piero, but I didn't know many players. I didn't even know half of the teams in the league. 'But this meant I could really focus on my game. That was my strength because I didn't have any fear.' His Italian sojourn shaped Nakata's future life and way of thinking. 'I really like the Italian people, Italian culture,' he says. 'Even today, I say half of me is Japanese, and half is Italian. 'Italy is all about the fashion, music, design, architecture, food, so you can imagine how it influenced me.' More on the world of sport and fashion… After just 18 months at Perugia, Italy's more established clubs came knocking. His next stop was Roma, joining in January 2000. He scored a long-range goal that sparked a late comeback against Juventus in May 2001, helping Roma win their first 'scudetto' (league title) in almost 20 years. 'Every time I go back to Rome, all the fans still come up to me and say, 'Thank you Nakata',' he says. But his spell at Fabio Capello's Roma was often frustrating, as he found it hard to displace fan favourite Francesco Totti. After 18 months, he swapped the Italian capital for big-spending Parma, where it was a familiar tale despite his £18m price tag. In a squad filled with internationals, including Stephen Appiah, Sabri Lamouchi and Hakan Sukur, during that nostalgic era of baggy shirts and big collars, he struggled to nail down a starting place and complained of being used in a more defensive role. Despite that, he still scored a crucial away goal for Parma in their Coppa Italia triumph over Juventus in 2002, lifting his second major trophy in Italy in consecutive years. Advertisement Off the pitch, he became known as a style icon who attended runway shows, drawing comparisons with former Manchester United and England player David Beckham. Nakata had his own website, accessible in multiple languages, that attracted around 10million views on the day he signed for Parma, before the days of social media. 'I started my own website around 25 years ago,' he explains. 'At that time, no famous people or players or many companies had their own website. The media controlled everything, but I had a huge fight with (them) because many times they were writing lies and wrong things. 'I wanted to have my own voice to deliver.' Thousands of Japanese tourists flocked to watch him play in Italy — 5,000 had turned up for his Perugia debut alone — and there was enormous demand for Nakata replica shirts. He was endorsed by big brands such as Mastercard, Canon and Nike, appearing in the latter's campaign at the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea, a tournament he became the face of. 'Everyone in Japan was expecting that we would qualify for the knockout stages, out of the groups, which was very hard,' he says. 'We were a very young team, most had never played in a World Cup. At that time, there were only a few of us playing overseas. So the pressure was huge. But at the same time, the atmosphere was amazing because the whole nation was cheering for us.' The tournament helped raise the profile of football in Asia, yet Nakata was left frustrated by Japan's performance. 'We could have done better,' he says. 'We lost to Turkey in the round of 16.' After a spat with Parma manager Cesare Prandelli, Nakata had brief spells at Bologna and Fiorentina between 2004 and 2006, before finishing his career in England, signing in August 2005 for Sam Allardyce's Bolton Wanderers, who were playing in the UEFA Cup. Advertisement After seven years in Italy, the move to the cooler climes of northern England was a tough adjustment. 'Coming from Italy, the football was totally different,' he says. 'A lot of the teams were playing long balls. That was a little bit of a shock. And then coming from Italy to Manchester, food-wise, it was different. There was a lot of rain. It was a little bit challenging.' With a smile, he adds: 'Before the matches, we used to have pasta, but coming from Italy, the pasta in Italy and the UK was completely different. Today, it's much better, though.' Following a largely underwhelming spell at Bolton, Nakata's final game in club football came at the end of the 2005-06 season — a 1-0 victory against already-relegated Birmingham City, where he was substituted for Jay-Jay Okocha. Then came his tears on the pitch at that summer's World Cup, his final goodbye. When he reflects on his time in football, how would he like to be remembered as a player? 'I like beautiful play, elegance, it's like how Zinedine Zidane (played), it's beautiful,' he says. 'It's not about the speed or the power, it's beautiful passes, beautiful play, it doesn't need to be goals. I like elegance and I'm like that in life, not just in football. I like things that are elegant and beautiful — beautiful clothes, beautiful architecture, designs, views.' After bowing out of the game, Nakata's next act was to travel around the world, which he did non-stop for three years (he says he has visited around more than 100 countries). He then returned to his home country, eager to immerse himself in Japanese culture. At this time, in 2009, Nakata became fascinated by sake, a Japanese alcoholic drink made from fermented rice. 'When I was living in Italy, in my spare time, I used to visit wineries in the country,' he says. 'So I started liking not only wine itself, but the people making the wines and the environment. Then when I came back to Japan, thinking about Japanese culture, obviously it's not about the wine. It's sake, right? Advertisement 'So then I said, 'OK, it's unique, because sake is only made in Japan'. And, at that time, the Japanese food scene was becoming known around the world, but no one knew about the sake, including myself, so I thought that was a great opportunity to know about Japanese sake because it's also part of Japanese culture as well.' He began visiting breweries across Japan, meeting craftsmen, farmers and sake makers to understand the techniques, taste and history. He has since become a 'master of sake' and founded his own sake company to help the traditional Japanese industry. He has created his own tea brand. It is clear, after an hour in his company, that he is not your typical footballer. 'When I retired at 29, a lot of people told me, 'You can still play', or, 'Why don't you work in the football industry and become a coach or whatever?',' he says. 'But I'm not choosing things to do because I can. No, I'm doing things because I want (to do them). 'I do what I like. So if I like fashion, I do fashion. If I like other culture, I do other culture. If I like sake, I do sake. 'Other people sometimes don't understand why. It's because I'm doing it for passion.'
Yahoo
31-01-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
As prices soar, more Japanese take to growing their own food
STORY: 37-year-old Kazuki Nakata carefully tends to his plants in the small yard outside his home in Kawasaki, Japan. What started as a hobby during the COVID-19 pandemic has become a valuable source of fresh produce for his family, as he grows his own vegetables. Cabbage prices in Japan made headlines this month, in Tokyo soaring to 1,000 yen, or nearly $6.50 — around the average minimum hourly wage. The staple crop is one of many items driving up the cost of living in a country with stagnant wages. As the cost of living rises, Nakata's family feels the financial benefits of homegrown food more than ever. "I didn't start out with my family's finances in mind, but when I think of how much it helps with the household budget now that prices are going up, I'm glad I got into this hobby." In 2023, Nakata left his job at an electronics store to focus on growing vegetables. He grows 47 types of vegetables including lettuce, onions and daikon radishes in empty plastic bottles, drink cans, and even his bicycle basket. Nakata also created a YouTube channel where he posts videos about it. It gained around 4,500 new subscribers in the second half of January alone. With vegetable prices where they are, Nakata says the interest is understandable: "Whenever I upload a video there are loads of positive comments saying things like 'Wow' or 'I want to try this too,' but I also get comments like, 'This is really important now that vegetables are so expensive,' so I get the feeling that everyone is becoming aware of the issue." Recent government data show that while agricultural prices have risen, the average vegetable intake among Japanese adults reached an all-time low in November. The Nakata family, however, is going against the trend. They say they're eating more fresh vegetables than ever before. "I feel like the taste of vegetables you've grown from seeds is so many times better than normal. These vegetables are grown with love, so they're different." Sign in to access your portfolio
