A sneak thief taking advantage of World Cup soccer -- Akahata 'Current' column, June 15

"Sorry, we are closed. Enjoy the World Cup's Japan-Tunisia match," said a notice which I saw on the door of a clothing store on my way to work. The letters looked cheerful.

At the railway station, I was overwhelmed by so many young people in blue replica uniforms. In the train, I came across a group of middle-aged women engaged in a lively discussion of the day's match. Some companies allowed their employees to watch the game on TV during worktime.

Japan beat Tunisia and for the first time advanced to the second round of the tournament. In Japan's coach Philippe Troussier's words, "This marked a new page in the history of Japanese soccer." In the past, from Asia only North Korea (1966) and Saudi Arabia (1994) advanced to the finals tournament.

Blond, brown, red, and black hair plus one skin head make up the Japanese team. For now, they look unaffected by any pressure. They are playing in their own style at ease. They make us feel purified. Now I just want them to maintain this way of challenging the strong teams to come.

Oh, yes. I can't afford to only spend my time writing about the World Cup today; in parliament the ruling Liberal Democratic, Komei, and Conservative parties used their majority to unilaterally hold a Lower House committee meeting and bulldozed the bill to adversely revise the medical insurance system through the committee in complete disregard of the fact that a TV station survey shows that about 60 percent of people are opposed to the bill.

The ruling parties are trying hard to withhold a report on the investigation into the Defense Agency's illegal making of a list of private information of individuals seeking information from the Agency. They are in a hush-hush mode. They are the people who are awkward at playing a fair game. They railroaded through the bill when the whole of Japan was excited by soccer matches. They are like thieves sneaking into empty houses. (end)