The finals countdown

100 days to go until World Cup kicks off

Fireworks and laser beams illuminate the night sky as Seoul marks 100 days until the World Cup kicks off. AP

TOKYO (AP) -- There is scant evidence of a countdown.

In Tokyo's Ginza shopping district, a few store windows display soccer balls and jerseys with the official "Korea Japan 2002" logo. A booth selling soccer lottery tickets has a small stack of brochures.

But in just 100 days, the world's most-watched sporting event kicks off in South Korea and Japan. The event, which runs from May 31-June 30, will be the first World Cup ever to be held in Asia, and organizers say they expect fans to come in record numbers.

Wednesday, however, passed with only mild fanfare.

In Japan, officials from the World Cup organizing committee, JAWOC, said they had no specific plans to mark the day, though preparations for the event -- JAWOC will spend 60.7 billion yen (US$455 million) -- are nearly complete.

"All our venues are completed and the demand for domestic ticket sales has been phenomenal," said Glenn Johnston, JAWOC's international media manager, on Wednesday.

It was slightly more festive in Seoul, however.

South Korean organizers held parades and music festivals as they unveiled a neon sign to track the days remaining.

"The World Cup is a golden opportunity to bolster our country's prosperity, so it is important to prepare for it and present South Korea in its best light to the world," President Kim Dae-jung said in a special message to mark the occasion.

Despite the low-key atmosphere, officials say excitement should build in the coming weeks.

In May, fans are expected to swarm the teams as they arrive for training. Twenty-three teams, including defending champions France, will set up camp in Japan, and the remaining 9 will train in neighboring South Korea.

France, which plays its opening round games in South Korea, will practice in Ibusuki on Japan's southern Island of Kyushu. Not far away, Germany will hold camp in Miyazaki, also on Kyushu.

England, meanwhile, will be based in Tsuna, a small town on Awaji Island near the western Japanese city of Kobe, while Argentina will work out in Fukushima Prefecture, north of Tokyo.

Even before any teams arrive, Japan's national team coach Philippe Troussier is hoping his players can kindle excitement.

He has been diligently assembling a team of European-based players Hidetoshi Nakata and Shinji Ono and local standouts who will be under intense pressure to beat opponents Belgium, Russia and Tunisia to clear the first round. Troussier's 34-man national squad begins training in Shizuoka in March and is scheduled to play a handful of friendlies in the next few months.

But with the event comes the threat of fan violence and terrorist attacks -- and both Tokyo and Seoul have said security will be tight.

Japan's Parliament passed new legislation in November barring soccer hooligans from entering the country and is considering other steps to thwart terrorist attacks. JAWOC has boosted its security budget by 25 percent and has promised tough checks for weapons and contraband at all World Cup stadiums.

The South Korean government has said it will enforce no-fly zones over World Cup stadium and post gun-toting guards at all major airports.

Transportation poses a different problem.

Japan's Transport Ministry expects 443,000 World Cup visitors in June -- about twice the average number of summer tourists -- and domestic carriers have promised extra flights between Seoul and Tokyo.

But it remains unclear whether the country's roads, trains and airports can handle such a massive influx and many of the rural venues have never handled such big crowds.

This year's World Cup is the first ever to be co-hosted, and officials in both countries have vowed to put aside their numerous political disagreements to stage the event.

But differences remain.

Anger continues to simmer in South Korea over a controversial Japanese history textbook and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a war shrine last August. Both issues stem from Japan's colonization of Korea from 1910 until 1945, and animosity runs deep.

Chung Moon-joon, co-chair of South Korea's World Cup Organizing Committee, brushed aside concerns.

"Korea and Japan will present the most spectacular World Cup ever," said Chung, who is also vice president of FIFA, the sport's world governing body.

Not all concerns are related to the event itself.

FIFA President Sepp Blatter has written to Chung urging him to ban the consumption of dog -- a traditional South Korean delicacy -- during the tournament.

South Korea should "take immediate and decisive measures to put an end to this cruelty," Blatter wrote last November.

Chung has vowed his "personal commitment to efforts to enforce existing laws that forbid mistreatment of animals." But millions of South Koreans eat dog meat, which is considered healthy and is commonly eaten in summertime. Many people also believe it enhances male sexual prowess.

 

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