World Rugby chief confident Japan can fill venues for 2019 tournament

Sep 12, 2017 | News On Japan

Sep 12, 2017 (Japan Today) - Japan's hosting of the 2019 Rugby World Cup has created "nervousness" about whether big crowds will turn up but national pride will carry the day for the Japanese, World Rugby's chief executive said Monday.

It will be the first time the tournament will be held in Asia and outside of the sport's traditional strongholds, but Alan Gilpin said he expects audiences to fill up the stadiums.

"It's not just the first World Cup in Asia, it's the first World Cup outside of the traditional rugby strongholds. So that definitely presents some challenges," he told a conference in Singapore.

"It creates some nervousness. Will we have sold-out stadiums, will we have the same level of audience engagement, the same engagement we had in previous world cups? The answer is yes, we will."

Gilpin said 2017 is a "critical year" for Japan as it ramps up the campaign to promote the tournament, to be held in 12 cities across the country over six weeks.

But Japan already has a base to build on as after they pulled off a major shock by upsetting South Africa in the 2015 World Cup, boosting Japanese interest in the sport, he said.

Typhoons No. 28 and 29 Bring High Waves to Japan's Pacific Coast

Two typhoons moving across the Pacific southeast of Japan are expected to remain well away from the Japanese mainland, but powerful swells could bring rough seas to a wide stretch of the country's Pacific coastline throughout the three-day holiday weekend, according to forecasts updated at 3 a.m. on October 10.

Cyberattacks Spread Across Japan

A series of cyberattacks has disrupted business operations and exposed millions of customer records across Japan, with a ransomware attack on a cloud service provider affecting 495 companies and local governments nationwide, while convenience store operator Lawson has disclosed a separate breach involving more than 2.15 million personal information records.

Japan's First 360-Degree Projection Mapping Opens in Osaka

Japan's first 360-degree projection mapping show will open at the Osaka City Museum of Fine Arts on October 10, transforming the historic building into an immersive world of light, music, and seasonal imagery, with organizers hoping the attraction will also help stimulate the city's nighttime economy.

Tokyo University Professor Wins Nobel Prize in Chemistry

Tokyo University of Science professor emeritus Kenzo Soai has been awarded this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry together with French chemist Henri B. Kagan for discoveries that transformed scientists' understanding of how chemical reactions can favor one of two mirror-image forms of a molecule.

US Military Halts All Okinawa Operations for 48 Hours

The US military suspended activities by all forces stationed in Okinawa for 48 hours from noon on October 7, an unusual measure following the arrest of a US Marine in connection with a robbery and murder case that has renewed scrutiny of crimes involving American service members.

MEDIA CHANNELS

MORE Society NEWS

Most Sightings of Fugitive Yoichi Hatta Reported in Kanto

Police in Oita Prefecture have revealed that the Kanto region accounts for the largest number of reported sightings of Yoichi Hatta, a fugitive wanted in connection with a fatal hit-and-run incident in Beppu in 2022, with authorities preparing to distribute new wanted posters nationwide from November as the search enters its fifth year.