The Samurai Blue are headed for Qatar to play in this year’s World Cup. This year also marks 20 years since Japan co-hosted the event with South Korea and a lot has happened in this country’s soccer scene since then. 

Sports writer Dan Orlowitz joins the show to catch us up on where Japan stands in the global soccer landscape, the controversies swirling around the host nation of Qatar, and how fandoms here interact with “the beautiful game.”

Read More:
Hajime Moriyasu announces Japan squad for World Cup (Dan Orlowitz, The Japan Times)
All Japan Times 2022 FIFA World Cup coverage

On this episode:
Dan Orlowitz: Articles | Twitter
Jason Jenkins: Articles | Twitter

Transcript: We have recently begun experimenting with transcripts for episodes of Deep Dive. A full transcript of this episode is available on The Japan Times website. Find transcripts useful? Tips for improvement? Contact us to let us know.

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Photo: Japanese fans sing the national anthem before the start of a World Cup soccer match against Ivory Coast in 2014. | REUTERS/STEFANO RELLANDINI