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Ancient and modern Japanese Emperor Akihito absent from ceremoniesPosted: Friday May 31, 2002 7:12 AMUpdated: Friday May 31, 2002 11:13 AM
SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Co-host South Korea put on a spiritual show mixing ancient tradition and high tech as the 2002 World Cup officially opened Friday, moments before France was to begin its title defense against Senegal. Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and newly re-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter gave speeches at Seoul's 64,000-seat World Cup stadium. The latter was jeered by some fans. South Korean President Kim Dae-jung declared the tournament officially open at 7:44 p.m. (1044 GMT), and fireworks flew from opposite sides of the roof edge to mark the ceremony's start. A thick circle of yellow-clad dancers formed in the center of the field, then gave way to women in pale green dresses who performed a traditional Korean royal court dance. The zippier second stage saw futuristic silver dancers surrounded by creatures with TV sets for heads. Four high-tech drummers floated down from the roof onto stands decked with flashing lights and screens. The entire field was then swathed in white sheets, from below which rose a bell as high as a house. Screens on the bell showed scenes of suffering and poverty from around the world. An upbeat dance closed the ceremony as paper soccer balls dropped from the sky.
A huge cloud of mist hovered above the oval opening in the stadium roof and temperatures were about 20 C (68 F). A cool breeze blew through the stands. Hundreds of fans in the south stands wore yellow T-shirts in support of Senegal, while the opposite end was a sea of blue-clad France supporters. Many fans have come from abroad to support their national teams playing in South Korea and Japan, while South Koreans also have organized groups to welcome and cheer on various squads. Injured French star Zinedine Zidane came out with the rest of the squad for a field inspection before the opening ceremony, prompting cries of "Allez les Bleus!" from the north stand. Zidane tore a thigh muscle on Sunday and is out for at least one game. Hundreds of security officers vetted fans and journalists as they passed into the stadium, thoroughly inspecting all bags and even passing metal-detection devices over bulky books. Akihito absent from ceremonySEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- When Seoul was chosen to stage the opening ceremonies of the World Cup, it seemed only natural that co-host Japan's Emperor Akihito would attend as an honored guest, helping to put decades of animosity between the two nations into the past. Tokyo, however, decided to send his cousin. Though officials on both sides have tried to play it down, Akihito's conspicuous absence from Friday's ceremony reflects the limits of soccer diplomacy -- and how deeply the wounds of war and occupation continue to affect relations between the two Asian neighbors. Instead of Akihito, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sat beside South Korean President Kim Dae-jung at the opening ceremonies and offered a speech welcoming the cup to Asia "on behalf of the Japanese people." Representing the palace was Akihito's cousin, Prince Takamado, and Takamado's wife, Princess Hisako. They are the first members of Japan's royal family to visit Korea since the end of World War II. Japan's surrender in 1945 opened the way for the independence of Korea, which had been a Japanese colony since 1910. Co-hosting was not what Japan or South Korea wanted. The two put forth rival bids, and soccer's governing body, FIFA, settled on the co-hosting idea as a political compromise, giving the opener to South Korea and the final to Japan. In 1998, South Korea's President Kim extended an invitation for Akihito to attend the opening ceremony. "It would have been the perfect opportunity for the emperor to visit," said Koshi Yamazaki, a professor of international law at Japan's Niigata University. "Korea is our closest neighbor. South Korean presidents have frequently come to Japan. It is unnatural for the emperor, who is seen abroad as Japan's head of state, to have not gone to Korea." Japanese officials defend their decision. "The decision was that the most suitable person to go to the World Cup was Prince Takamado, because he is the (honorary) president of the Japan Football Association," said Koizumi's spokeswoman, Misako Kaji. In a gesture of reconciliation, Takamado and his wife visited the National Cemetery soon after their arrival Wednesday and laid a wreath for Korean War dead. Along with the opening game Friday, Takamado was to watch two more World Cup matches before returning home next Monday. But Tokyo's reluctance to have the emperor visit South Korea reflects a strong concern that, despite the passage of more than a half-century, the time is not yet ripe. Officials fear Akihito would not be welcome because anger over Japan's often brutal rule of the Korean Peninsula remains too strong. Were an incident to occur, they say, the already fragile relations would only be further weakened. Such concerns are not easily dismissed -- many older Koreans make no secret of their hatred of Japan. But Akihito's absence itself was seen as yet another snub, especially since Akihito will attend the final game, to be played in Yokohama on June 30. "Whether it's the emperor, his cousin or his grandfather, none of them are getting any welcome from me," said Bae Yong-tae, 53, an unemployed office worker. "But if anyone is going to come, it should be the emperor himself. He should use this opportunity to apologize for the past." Even younger, more conciliatory Koreans voiced disappointment. "Despite the bitter past, it's time to look into the future," said Kim Dae-gyun, a 34-year-old office worker. "But it would have been much better if the emperor himself came." Koizumi spokeswoman Kaji stressed that Tokyo is not ruling that out in the future. "It's not that Japan denied the possibility of having the emperor and empress visit the Republic of Korea forever," she said. "They have visited China. So in the future it would be good if they could go. But for this World Cup, it's not in their agenda."
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