Sayonara Japan

@smithinjapan Yes, I generally recoil at all those behaviors. Of course nationalism is the reality of modernity. It wasn't always this way (people forget). I think it's one plausible way that humanity will destroy itself (religion being the other candidate for most destructive "ideology"). Yes, I'm against it. I try to be easy going notwithstanding my comments here. It's just what I believe. Nationalism is a kind of delusion and many little things reinforce it's ideology.

good one, you cheeky burger...oops, bugger

@smith

No. The same female newsreader who says " Nihon" suddenly changes to "Nippon" when talking about football. Don't know her name, sorry....

. Who can't respect the Scots chanting to the Italians the warning 'We're gonna deep-fry your pizzas'?

or that classic chant to the Norwegians, "You only sing when you're whaling"

Chubby chops could benefit from the Emirates salad option on the fly home.

'its probably only funny if your not Japanese, hey but patriotism and international sport go hand in hand. live with it'

Why shouldn't it be funny to Japanese people? I've got limited sympathy for those who are too thin-skinned to take a harmless joke or have undergone a sense of humour bypass. My favourite posters or chants are often those which poke fun at themselves. Who can't respect the Scots chanting to the Italians the warning 'We're gonna deep-fry your pizzas'?

its probably only funny if your not Japanese, hey but patriotism and international sport go hand in hand. live with it

shallots: "Displays of nationalism are a feature of international sporting events. They are propaganda"

So your against people waving their nation's flag? putting on make-up in their nation's colors? CHEERING for their nation? That's all love of country, my friend.

lucabrasi: granted, "nippon" is often thrown around by wingers, but even they don't know that the difference between 'nippon' and 'nihon' has zero to do with international affairs and is just the result of regional dialect. One area prefers 'nippon', another prefers 'nihon', and the latter has spread more of late because of popular media. That's why you have areas named "Nipponbashi" and "Nihonbashi" even in the same cities.

warispeace: What the sign shows is the extent to which so many aspect of our lives have become corporatized and commodified and how facilitate this process.

shallots: But we see it here in the picture above. Sociological propaganda that reinforces a definite ideology. Some people might want to say that what I'm saying is too serious or uptight (or maybe even irrelevant?). But it's just an obvious fact.

Geez....take a few deep breaths, folks. It's Saturday morning. You're alive. The world is beautiful.

Fighting the evils of corporatism and sociological propaganda have an important place in the world, but this ain't it. A clever kid realizing that one of the Japanese players has the same name as one of the most recognizable global Japanese companies and making a joke about it isn't a sign of our social decline and imminent doom as a species.

@Shallots It's a witty sign. There's no racism, stereotyping or denigration of the country itself. I despise nationalism but I like a laugh and that's all this is trying to make people do. If I were Japanese or Honda himself, I'd like to think I'd say 'not bad' if I saw this. It's a football thing.

I loved Honda`s homerun last night!

. . . . . Uhh honda, kagawa, etc. etc. -Those men.

Very clever since Honda is one of the main players on the Japanese team.

"when will the Japanese men get with the program?"

Depends "what men" most are to busy surviving and putting food on the table and don't have much time for sports as they would like.

What I dont get is how popular soccer (among young boys), is here in Japan, when their own male national team aint even all that great.

At least "Nadeshiko" Japan can brag about a title.

When will the Japanese men get with the program?

And yes, he is wearing an Argentina shirt. Perhaps he didn't have any other colour available, leave the kid alone. Kudos for a clever sign

Clever kid. Kudos.

@lucabrasi I'm not a football fan but I have sports that I do like. I can understand how people enjoy it. But this aspect of it disgusts me. The olympics are even worse of course. But we see it here in the picture above. Sociological propaganda that reinforces a definite ideology. Some people might want to say that what I'm saying is too serious or uptight (or maybe even irrelevant?). But it's just an obvious fact. Nationalism is a deadly serious business.

Yep. I hate the way "Nihon" suddenly becomes "Nippppon" whenever there' s an international event involved. Everyone talking like low-life chimpira.

I completely agree, they get all jingoistic again. They attribute victory to Japanese fighting spirit, and if they lose to European teams, because they were bigger than us

What the sign shows is the extent to which so many aspect of our lives have become corporatized and commodified and how facilitate this process.

There is nothing political about this sign, just clever wordplay

@shallots

Yep. I hate the way "Nihon" suddenly becomes "Nippppon" whenever there' s an international event involved. Everyone talking like low-life chimpira.

Displays of nationalism are a feature of international sporting events. They are propaganda.

Classic! Sums up a lot in a very clever fashion.

Honda Civic x Airbus A380, LOL!!

Well, clearly he's not a fan of walking or cycling.

Why wear an Argentina strip if you're a UAE fan?

But anyway, well done UAE! Very bad result for Japan.

I hate the olympics as well. It's part of the propaganda of nationalism - in the most ridiculous and pointless way.

OMG that is so funny and original. Best ever!