Shinngi Takesono, the chief priest of a 500-year-old wooden temple was rushing home after experiencing a foreshock of an earthquake (of magnitude 5.7 on the richter scale) in the Noto Peninsula of northwest Japan.
The 58-year-old, married to Hatsue, who was 59, wanted to get as close to his family as possible. Just when he reached in front of his house, the main quake hit, with a preliminary magnitude of 7.6. The tremors were so strong that he could not get out of the car.
And in front of his eyes, his 45-year-old house collapsed. He called out for his wife multiple times but heard nothing. Two police units and a sniffer dog arrived later and after three hours of searching, they returned empty-handed.
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This is one of the many incidents from Wajima, one of the worst-hit cities by the earthquake, followed by fire, hours after its New Year celebrations.
FILE PHOTO: Many buildings were destroyed by fire after earthquakes on January 03, 2024 in Wajima, Japan. | Photo Credit: Getty Images/ Buddhika Weerasinghe
According to the United States Geological Survey, it was the fiercest quake in the region since 2011. So far, over 200 people have been confirmed dead, 565 people injured and close to 10,000 people have been displaced.
When the Japanese men’s football team arrived in Doha – for the AFC Asian Cup – two weeks after the quake, one could feel the sombre air of the catastrophe around the Blue Samurais.
Hajime Moriyasu, the head coach of Japan, said that his boys will look to give the country hope through football.
“Many people died and suffered and are still suffering from this earthquake. I think if our performance as a football team can inspire or encourage the people who are still suffering, that is one thing that we can do to encourage these people,” he said.
Wataru Endo, Japan’s captain, added, “We would like to play and win for those people.”
On Sunday, against Vietnam in its opening game, Takumi Minamino opened the scoring for Japan. And, as his team trailed 1-2 at a point in time, he equalised, starting the comeback as Japan finally won the game 4-2.
Minamino’s family had survived one of Japan’s worst earthquakes, the Great Hanshin Earthquake in 1995, with the midfielder being born just hours after the disaster. Nearly three decades later, his performance inspired hope for victims.
After full-time, the full team paraded around the field with a white banner that read “United Together!” for the Noto Peninsula Earthquake 2024.
Fans had also turned up with posters for solidarity, which read, ‘We will overcome this together’, which also earned applause from the whole team and staff.
FILE PHOTO: Japan players display a banner in support of the victims of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake during the AFC Asian Cup Group D match against Vietnam. | Photo Credit: Getty Images
“I wish they recover as quickly as possible. Keep fighting!” Takefusa Kubo, who contributed to the fourth goal within minutes of coming on, told Sportstar.
“The objective is to give positive energy to people who suffered the earthquake. We hope people enjoy our match and we will keep trying to win the tournament and give people something big to be happy,” he added.
Football has always been a source of immense inspiration in Japan.
In 2011, months before the FIFA Women’s World Cup, the country was devastated by its worst-ever earthquake. After the tremors, a tsunami followed, killing close to 20,000 people and severely affecting thousands more.
“We spoke amongst ourselves countless times whether it was okay to go to the World Cup when Japan is going through such a difficult time,” recalls Ayo Miyama, a former midfielder of the national team in one of the episodes of the documentary, This is Football.
“We decided the best thing was to play and encourage people with our performance,” says Homare Sawa in the same episode.
Japan played the defending World Champion, Germany, in the quarterfinal. Right before kick-off, the backroom staff prepared a clip on the disaster to inspire the girls to fight for the victims.
The girls went on to beat Germany 1-0 in regulation time and the United States 3-1 on penalties in the final as thousands of Japanese fans woke the night to watch the summit clash.
Japan became the first and only Asian nation to win the title, inspiring an entire generation which has now made the side one of the strongest to beat in global football.
At the Asian Cup, the men’s team of Japan already has a legacy. It has won the tournament four times and is the most successful side in its history.
But in Qatar, at the 2023 edition, it will look to go the same way, inspiring people by eventually winning the title in the same country where it last won the title 12 years ago.
“We are looking to win the tournament. We must take each match once at this time. We must improve as long as we go along the tournament,” Moriyasu said.
“We have seven matches if we go to final, so we have to take each match by itself. I think all our players will be participating as a team. We have to think about seven matches in total.”
Japan plays Iraq next, at the Education City Stadium on January 19, and will finish its group stage against Indonesia, five days later at the Al Thumama Stadium.
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