The Japanese soccer world waking up to a massive bombshell this morning as Yomiuri reports that Samurai Blue midfielder (and recent Mainz signing) Kaishu Sano was arrested w/ 2 others on charges of raping a woman at a Tokyo hotel on Sunday morning.

yomiuri.co.jp/national/20240… (before getting into the weeds, Yomiuri describes the charges as 不同意性交容疑 - non-consensual sexual intercourse - which is now legally considered 'rape' in Japan after a 2023 penal code revision)

MOJ:

BBC: moj.go.jp/keiji1/keiji12…
bbc.com/japanese/65924…

It's time for the thread you all know and love,
ｅｖｅｒｙ
ｇｏｄｄａｍｎｅｄ
Ｊ．Ｌｅａｇｕｅ
Ｕｎｉｆｏｒｍ
２０２４
ｅｄｉｔｉｏｎ J1 Part 1

1⃣ Urawa Reds
2⃣ Sanfrecce Hiroshima
3⃣ Kashima Antlers
4⃣ Nagoya Grampus

OFFICIAL: J.LEAGUE APPROVES SHIFT TO FALL-SPRING FROM 2026-27 🗓️

THREAD BELOW 2026-27 season to open around first week of August and break from mid-December through mid-February, concluding in final week of May.

Japan captain Maya Yoshida took a moment after Thursday's game to shake hands with Princess Hisako Takamado, a noted patron of Japanese sports who is an honorary president at a number of orgs including the Japan Football Association.

https://twitter.com/afcasiancup_jp/status/1598482722615595008

Her deceased husband, Prince Norihito, was actively involved in promoting soccer. The JFA's elite U-18 competition and their national training center in Chiba are both named after him.

jfa.jp/news/00023274/

This is making the rounds on #JPN Soccer Twitter: a letter from #SamuraiBlue head coach Hajime Moriyasu to his younger self, taken out as a full-page newspaper ad by the JFA in December 2018.

"To you, whose dream was destroyed on that day,"

1/

https://twitter.com/takuma_sports14/status/1598622006328840192

"35 international 'A' matches and one goal. My numbers with the national team we by no means impressive, but I encountered frustration and growth in each and every match.

My first appearance was in May 1992 at the National Stadium."

2/

Mainichi's report on how the World Cup is So Over COVID-19 generating some attention.

The story notes that Japan and England among the few teams to require that reporters wear masks at news conferences, and that Japan's precautions particularly strict among participants.

https://twitter.com/YahooNewsTopics/status/1598228408106127368

Among precautions:

- New players arriving at the #SamuraiBlue camp took antigen tests for 3 days to make sure they weren't incubating.

- Round tables at meals had odd number of seats so players wouldn't face each other.

- Media and players wore masks in mixed zones

Reo Hatate appeared on soccer variety show Yabecchi Stadium alongside former Frontale teammate Kengo Nakamura.

Asked what left a strong impression at Celtic: "The support... If you play well they applaud, but if you play poorly they boo. I'm thankful for it either way." "There's a local Italian place that me and Daizen (Maeda) frequent, but the owner never charges us... we've been there dozens of times. Soup, salad, pasta, dessert, all of it."

In his latest diary entry for Sportiva, Reo Hatate wrote about his recent national team debut and adjusting to life at Celtic.

https://twitter.com/YahooNewsTopics/status/1516624790957658115

On his 45-minute appearance against Vietnam: "Honestly I would have liked to play longer, but I was able to play as an inside half and I felt like I was pulling off the same plays I did at Celtic."

I am sitting inside an empty Saitama Stadium, crowd noise is being pumped in, and it sucks.

But I think outsiders need to show a bit more understanding/sympathy about why we reached this point and what Japan's attitudes are toward these Olympics and in regards to COVID-19.

https://twitter.com/MichaelRPayne1/status/1418834841144070150

The messaging from Tokyo 2020, the government and the IOC has never been consistent, which is a big part of the problem. The messaging from the IOC in particular has, quite frankly, been really patronizing - just a series of middle fingers to the Japanese public.

The first sign that the Olympics are happening at Saitama Stadium is some bunting on the bus stop at Urawa-misono Station. No shuttles for media or volunteers so it’s a 1.3km walk to the stadium for us. #Tokyo2020 Some Captain Tsubasa art displayed at the nearby community center.

Here is how Olympic media/officials who aren’t in the bubble are getting around town. I wonder if these will be chargeable after the games or if it’ll just be a cool souvenir. (I'm sure others will try for S&G but no, it does not work on vending machines)

Because I'm absolutely flummoxed by this whole situation, here's a thread on how Keisuke Honda's appointment as general manager is being reported in Japan: 1. Media are using the word 実質的 (jisshitsuteki, 'in essence' to describe his appointment. As in, "he is in essence their new head coach but not actually their head coach.

2. He doesn't have any coaching licenses and will officially be the team's general manager.