Month: October 2019

Turned away from Brazil’s biggest clubs, Caio dragged himself up and starred in Japan before making himself a hero in Abu Dhabi against River

No other nation can match Brazil for the sheer volume of football players exported across the world. A Football Observatory report in May 2017 stated that the South American giant boasted no less than 1,202 players outside of its borders, almost double the number provided by nearest competitors France and Argentina.

Many, of course, are household names, among the very elite in Europe’s top five leagues. But the vast majority can only dream of the success enjoyed by the likes of Neymar, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and other stars.

From Hong Kong and Indonesia in the Far East to the lower leagues of the United States football pyramid, Brazilian talents are truly a global phenomenon. And one of that unsung legion now has the chance to announce himself on the biggest stage after masterminding a truly shocking Club World Cup upset.

Al Ain’s 24-year-old trickster Caio took a tired, distracted River Plate defence to pieces on Tuesday, scoring his side’s second in a 2-2 draw with a brilliant strike, and converting his penalty for good measure as the United Arab Emirates side downed the Argentines in a shoot-out to prevail in their Club World Cup semi-final.

The feat is even more impressive considering it was Al Ain’s third game in just six days, having disposed of Wellington and Esperance de Tunis in order to make the last four.

Now a daunting final against none other than Real Madrid, winner of the last two Club World Cups, looms on Saturday. But Caio, who has taken a long and winding path to stardom, will surely enjoy every minute, no matter the result.

A skillful winger who knows the way to goal, Caio shared the dream of millions of his compatriots: to make it big in the beautiful game. He began life in Sao Paulo’s youth system, but was cruelly cut at the tender age of 15.

“They said from the start that I was not big enough to be a player. They made up a reason to get rid of me. I know deep inside that it was a great experience and I learned a lot there,” Caio told ESPN of that early setback. When fellow Paulista sides Santos and Palmeiras also declined his services, the teenager was ready to give up altogether.

His fortunes changed, however, when he heard of a trial held alongside a touring Japanese high school. “I touched the ball twice and they picked me up,” he recalled, and a new chapter of his life beckoned. Caio moved to Kimitsu’s Chiba Kokusai High School, taking on an unfamiliar language and culture at the tender age of 17 before J.League heavyweights Kashima Antlers swooped for his signature when he graduated.

Only the unique Japanese cuisine seemed to pose a problem.

“You’ve seen those raw fish sitting there or those other things that look like they are going to start moving,” he laughed to ESPN . “I only used to eat rice with ketchup or mayonnaise. That came to the rescue when I didn’t have food I liked, then I learned to eat it.”

Caio quickly became a favourite in Kashima, making 100 appearances over his two and a half seasons and scoring a respectable 27 goals for the Japanese club. His talents saw him named the J.League’s Rookie of the Year in 2014, while the following year he netted in the final as Kashima lifted the J.League Cup.

Al Ain were also paying close attention, and paid out €3 million to bring him to Abu Dhabi midway through 2016 with Kashima on the way to the league title.

He has since engorged his own medal case with two more trophy wins in the Middle East and has improved his goalscoring ability, netting at a rate of nearly a goal every two games despite generally playing wide on the left to supply the bullets for Sweden and ex-Hamburg striker Marcus Berg. Once more, he has also proved that the prospect of fitting in to a new culture does not faze him in the slightest.

“I have dressed up as a sheikh for photos because I am trying to enjoy the culture and interact with fans,” he explained. “But it is a different kind of sheikh because since I am married and I came with my wife – there will not be any harems here!”

A strong showing in Saturday’s final, however, may well see the suitors lining up at Caio’s door. At just 24 and with a wealth of talent behind his back, the kid who was too small for Sao Paulo has grown up a lot on the other side of the world, and he might just give Real Madrid food for thought in the Club World Cup decider.

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The France international is backed by Real Madrid team-mate Alvaro Odriozola after years of criticism

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Alvaro Odriozola backed under pressure striker Karim Benzema, describing the Real Madrid striker as the best number nine in the world.

Benzema has faced significant criticism in recent seasons for a lack of goals, but the 30-year-old is Madrid’s leading scorer in La Liga this season with five in 14 starts.

He has also managed a further three goals and two assists in five Champions League appearances, helping Santiago Solari’s side secure top spot in Group G ahead of Wednesday’s match at home to CSKA Moscow.

Odriozola had some high praise when asked to sum up his time working with Benzema this term.

“Before I came here, I already liked him, but now I’m in love with Karim,” he told a news conference. “It’s incredible to train with him. He’s the best number nine in the world.

“It’s true that there is criticism, but he has taken on a leadership role in the team.”

Odriozola has managed to force his way into regular first-team action under Solari, having played just three times in La Liga during Julen Lopetegui’s tenure.

The former Real Sociedad full-back is happy to have the backing of his boss, but insists he holds no grudges against Lopetegui, who was sacked in October.

“I’m feeling very good, very comfortable. It was a dream to come here. The work is paying off,” he said.

“I have a lot more things to thank Julen for than to reproach him for. The answer was to work more. Now, I have more games, I feel the confidence of Santiago and now I have to return it on the pitch.”

The sporting director of a club that continues to punch above its weight in La Liga has opened up on the challenges team of such stature are facing

As talk of a European Super League builds once more, Eibar sporting director Fran Garagaza has told Goal that while clubs of Real Madrid’s stature may be keen, a breakaway would “kill” smaller outfits.

A move by continental heavyweights to unite and form their own division has been mooted for a while, with many considering it to be only a matter of time before the richest clubs in the world seek to line their pockets away from historic domestic competition.

Those reported to be at the centre of the plans have sought to quash the rumours, with many Premier League sides having sought to distance themselves from the proposals, while Juventus president Andrea Agnelli claims no discussions have been held since 2015.

Teams that rely on the presence of prestigious rivals to bring in much-needed funds are hoping that the matter can be laid to rest once and for all, with La Liga side Eibar among those keeping a close eye on developments.

Garagaza told Goal ahead of his team’s meeting with Los Blancos on Saturday: “The secret of Eibar is that it’s a tiny house but quite organised.

“The Super League would kill Eibar… but if I were Real Madrid, my perception would be different.”

Eibar, as a team from a small Basque village of just 27,000 inhabitants, have shown that it is still possible to punch above your weight and compete with those considered to hold Super League status.

They are currently taking in just their fifth top-flight campaign, but have established themselves among the Liga elite since making a step up in 2014-15.

A reputation has been established as one of Spain’s best-run clubs, with a great deal of emphasis placed on scouting and recruiting players that fit the values and traditions of the club.

That is not to say, though, that they would not welcome the opportunity to compete for the very best players on the planet.

“If I could, I would sign Modric from Real Madrid”, Garagaza said.

He is, however, adamant that if an injection of funds were to be received, Eibar would resist the urge to chase marquee additions and instead invest in their academy system, player salaries and training facilities.

Having more money in the pot would also make it easier for the club to retain players who enhance their profile at the Ipurua Municipal Stadium, with Japan international Takashi Inui among the more recent to have departed after reaching the end of his contract and joining rival Real Betis as a free agent.

“We did everything we could to keep Inui with us. We even had his OK and were just missing the signature on the contract,” added a rueful Garagaza.

Florian Lejeune is another to have slipped the Eibar net, but the former Manchester City defender did land the club a tidy profit when completing an £8.7 million ($11m) switch to Newcastle in 2017.

“One of my best operations was signing Florian Lejeune from Manchester City,” said Garagaza.

“I didn’t attend pre-season in order to sign him. City couldn’t believe it. It was hard for them. ‘Hey, but he is our player!’ – ‘Yes, but it’s already closed’.”

While an acceptance that players will come and go is part of the Eibar makeup, they are continuing to impress in the 2018-19 campaign, with a run of results that has secured a solid mid-table standing including a notable 1-1 draw away at Atletico Madrid in September.

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The Blues have released strong figures about their performance in a financial sense, despite an underwhelming season last year

Chelsea’s player sales reached £113 million ($144m) last season and have helped the club to achieve a record-high profit, after tax, of £62m and a best ever turnover figure of £443.4m for the year ending on June 30 2018.

The player sales were for last season and included the likes of Diego Costa to Atletico Madrid for £53m, Nemanja Matic to Manchester United for £40m, Nathan Ake to Bournemouth for £20m and Juan Cuadrado to Juventus for £17.3m. There were 17 further deals done out of the club, not including loans, leading to the figure to rise to £113m.

It was a season that ended in former manager Antonio Conte leaving the club after a fifth-place finish and an FA Cup win. The manager’s complaints about the club’s business in the transfer market lead to the club becoming unsettled in the dressing room and in the board room. Conte’s severance pay is not included in the figures.

However, Chelsea have managed to break-even under Uefa’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations and have increased many revenue streams – including those from broadcasting by £41.7m to £204.1m.

Chelsea increased match day revenues by £8.4m in the 2017/18 season, having won the FA Cup and to the Carabao Cup semi-final, but having disappointed with a last-16 exit in the Champions League.

The Blues also increased sponsorship from commercial activities, rising by £32m after signing a new kit deal with Nike and having other major sponsors including Carabao and Yokohama Tires. There will now be calls for Chelsea to dip into the transfer market in January, as they aim to give their star player Eden Hazard a record-breaking new deal worth over £300,000-a-week.

Bruce Buck released a statement, alongside Chelsea’s accounts to celebrate a year of success away from the pitch for the club.

“The club has now posted a series of record-breaking revenue figures and our profit margin has increased in consecutive years. This has occurred against a backdrop of varying participation in European football, and different degrees of achievement in the Premier League, which demonstrates we have built a sound business footing to support our on-pitch quest for success.

“With our matchday income steady, despite not finishing in the top four of the Premier League last season, and our global fanbase increasing, we thank our loyal supporters as well as our hard-working staff and valued partners for helping to make a successful financial year.”

The strong financial figures will be welcome news to Roman Abramovich, who has paused the development of the club’s stadium, amid a geopolitical situation which has halted the renewal of his UK investor visa.

Chelsea sources have insisted that Abramovich is committed to the club, but he is rumoured to have contracted the Raine Group to broker a sale of around £2.5bn, which would be a global record sale for any sports club.

The Blues parent company which represents the interests of Abramovich, Fordstam Limited, earned a profit of £24.9m for the year.

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An Air France jet made an emergency landing Monday at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport, and a government source said its passengers included at least one foreign dignitary attending Emperor Naruhito’s enthronement ceremony.

No injuries were reported as a result of the landing around 12:20 p.m. of Flight 272, a Boeing 777 plane traveling to Haneda from Paris with 323 passengers and crew, according to the transport ministry.

The plane reported a drop in the tire pressure of its main landing gear prior to landing, the ministry said, adding it was able to touch down without incident.

The identity of the foreign dignitary or dignitaries is not known.

Haneda, along with nearby Narita Airport, has been receiving a large number of foreign leaders and representatives who will take part in the enthronement ceremony at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo on Tuesday.

While many of them have decided to use private planes, some have arrived in Japan on commercial flights.

Emperor Naruhito ascended to the chrysanthemum throne May 1, a day after his father, former Emperor Akihito, abdicated as the first Japanese monarch to step down in about 200 years.

The upcoming ceremony for officially announcing the enthronement of the new emperor, the equivalent of a coronation, is expected to be attended by roughly 2,000 dignitaries from Japan and more than 170 other countries.

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Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino accepts his position will come under increasing pressure if results do not improve.

Spurs have endured a terrible start to the season, winning just three times in 12 games, which has seen Pochettino face scrutiny for the first time in five and a half years at the club.

The Argentinian says that he is not affected by speculation, and pointed to his lack of grey hairs as evidence, but knows the pressure on him will only get worse if his side cannot turn things around.

“The rumours happen in any club when you don’t win,” Pochettino said. “That doesn’t mean they are true and you need to care or pay attention about what has happened.

“But I understand it’s the business. I am 47 – look, why do you think that I don’t have white hair?

“Because I don’t pay attention to any of this. I only pay attention to what we need to do to improve our performance.

“And if we don’t improve our performance, what is going to be the result?

“Always the same in football. Yes, you are thinking the same as me.”

 

As well as the 7-2 humiliation to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Spurs caved to a 3-0 defeat at Brighton and needed a late leveller to draw with winless Watford at the weekend.

Pochettino said: “We are in a period where we are fragile like any team. In five years the team did a lot of good things, we put standards so high.

“Nearly all the players – 99 per cent of them – have enjoyed a good period at the club in the five and a half years we have been here. It had always been very positive so this, what is happening now, is a very new thing for us.

“But if you look at the history of Tottenham, now it looks normal for Tottenham to be in the Champions League but five years ago it wasn’t normal. We need to face a different period but the belief is there and the faith.

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“It’s normal to have questions like, we train too much, we are tired, all the rumours that can appear. Our answer is to only laugh.”

 

It’s not often in recent years that Liverpool have missed a trick in the transfer market. A large ingredient of their success under Jurgen Klopp has been their savvy recruitment at each end of the financial spectrum.

Manchester United’s transfer dealings have also played a major role in putting them where they are now – 13th. A haphazard, disjointed recruitment policy over the last six years has handicapped three managers before Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was appointed this year.

But United were uncharacteristically smart in the summer. Perhaps they didn’t do quite enough, such was the scale of the job, but the signings they made have been among the few bright spots on a dark landscape at Old Trafford this season.

Harry Maguire and Aaron Wan-Bissaka have settled in seamlessly and the £130million pair have proved their worth by stabilising what was a comically bad defence last year. Solskjaer would have hoped for such an impact given the outlay but, as we all know from United’s previous dealings, huge investments too often don’t pay dividends.

More surprising has been the impact of United’s first summer signing. Daniel James had never played at a level higher than the Championship prior to moving to Old Trafford from Swansea in June and the assumption was that the 21-year-old winger might take some time to adapt to his new surroundings.

But James has been a shining light in one of the dullest United forward lines in memory. His pace and penetration from wide has been thrust into even sharper focus by the slow, ponderous build-up play of those around him. Without James, United’s season could still have been worse.

His latest outing earned James the man of the match award against Liverpool on Sunday. The Beverley-born Wales international drove United up the pitch and his speed ruffled the usually unflappable Virgil van Dijk and Joel Matip.

If Klopp had felt a tinge of regret while watching United’s No.21 frighten his defence, you could not blame him. James looks perfect for the Red Devils, but he also appeared tailor-made for Liverpool.

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Klopp chose not to recruit this summer, trusting the players who won the Champions League to go one better domestically this season. The Liverpool boss was reluctant to upset the balance and harmony he has created at Anfield, though there are positions in which Klopp could have strengthened.

One of those areas can be found in attack. Liverpool’s front three might be a match for any in Europe but their stand-ins fall way below the standards set by Roberto Firmino, Mo Salah and Sadio Mane. Klopp was fortunate that last season his attacking trident missed only six Premier League matches in total; Firmino, Salah and Mane amassed 108 appearances of the 114 available.

It was always going to be a gamble to assume that the trio would enjoy similar luck with injuries and when either Firmino and Salah have been sidelined, Liverpool have clearly suffered in their absence. Firmino came off the bench against Newcastle last month to dig Liverpool out of a hole and without Salah on Sunday, Klopp’s attack created the joint-fewest big chances and the second-fewest shots on target against a side said to be in disarray.

In Firmino and Salah’s absence, and against Norwich on the opening day when Mane was rested due to his summer international excursions, Divock Origi has filled in. Against Newcastle and United, Origi was first injured and then awful.

As a centre-forward, Origi is not of the standard required for a team with Liverpool’s ambitions. Klopp used the Belgian more as a winger after using him barely at all through the first half of last season and though Origi is certainly willing, too often he is unable.

That, to be fair, should be Xherdan Shaqiri’s job. But Klopp clearly doesn’t trust the Switzerland star – and Shaqiri knows it. The 28-year-old has been given a total of 13 minutes spread over three substitute appearances in all competitions. His two Premier League outings have come with games against Newcastle and Burnley already won. Last term, Shaqiri saw plenty of action during his first few months at Anfield, but then as the run-in began, he was limited to an hour of Premier League football shared out over four of the last 13 matches.

In one of the few positions Liverpool needed cover, James was a stand-out candidate. With his Swansea contract running down, he fit all the criteria for the Reds, and the £15million price tag was easy to absorb even for a club looking to keep their powder dry before another explosive summer in 2020.

Liverpool certainly had an eye on him. After Leeds narrowly missed out on James in January, a posse of Premier League clubs watched the winger intently during the second half of last season. The report fed back to Liverpool was that if James could improve his finishing then there was a bargain to be had.

Three goals so far make James United’s highest scorer in open play, and with seven shots on target from 12 efforts, he has attempted the second-highest number of shots and retains the second-highest shooting accuracy of any United player to have started more than three matches.

James’ frightening pace would complement Liverpool’s heavy metal football, his character is apparently a coach’s dream, and his versatility would have reinforced an attack which remains extremely vulnerable to an injury. No wonder Klopp was so incensed by Hamza Choudhury’s tackle on Salah a fortnight ago; the Liverpool boss knew the possible consequences.

Liverpool’s first dropped points of the season demonstrated that Klopp might also need more creativity from deeper in midfield, especially against teams willing to sit deep as United were. The Reds may suggest there were few players available in the summer who fit that criteria within the budget available. But James was the solution to another problem Liverpool still have.

Ian Watson

MINAMIMAKI, NAGANO PREF. – A Filipino technical intern picks strawberries from elevated beds as he backs down an aisle on a swivel chair in a greenhouse — a common scene in this mountainous area of central Japan known for highland agriculture.

Farmers from Benguet, an upland province on Luzon Island that is also a major vegetable producer, have been interning under a program sponsored by the government in the Yatsugatake region of Nagano Prefecture, which has a similar environment.

At the strawberry farm in the village of Minamimaki, six Filipinos work from 5:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the harvest season from summer to fall, picking fruit as well as leaves to ventilate the plants, under the tutelage of Tatsuo Kikuchi, the 67-year-old owner.

Their labor is indispensable to the farm, just one of many agricultural communities in Japan affected by population decline and the shrinking number of farmers.

“We cannot do farming without technical interns. Without them, it’s just my wife and me so it is impossible to do this much,” Kikuchi said. The fruit picked there is shipped straight to Chateraise Corp., a nationwide cake shop chain.

“I’d like to study how to plant the strawberries, take good care of to produce more fruits,” said Eleazar Labi, 31, who arrived at the farm in April 2018. Hailing from a family that used to grow lettuce and cabbage, Labi said he hopes to cultivate strawberries after going home if he can earn enough money.

Labi and other technical interns in the region were earning ¥821 ($7.70) per hour as of September, the minimum wage in Nagano Prefecture at that time. In the Philippines, he said, “It is 300 pesos ($5.80) a day,” adding the daily allowance back home is equivalent to about an hour’s work in Japan.

“I saw a lot of former technical interns working hard for their farms after returning to Benguet. That’s why I want to support them,” said Kikuchi, who travels to the province every year and helps the farmers if they need assistance.

Noting the quality of Benguet highland vegetables has improved greatly compared with more than a decade ago, Kikuchi said, “Now they are not inferior to Japanese lettuce and broccoli.”

The farms began accepting interns from Benguet in 2008 as part of the Japan International Cooperation Agency’s grass-roots technical cooperation program, which aims to lift the incomes of Benguet farmers engaged in environmentally sustainable agriculture. So far, 335 Filipinos have worked at about 30 farms producing highland vegetables and strawberries in Yatsugatake.

Joshua Baynes, a 23-year-old Filipino intern at a different Nagano farm, removes broccoli from the ground, separates the leaves with a knife in less than 20 seconds, and puts them in a plastic box for inspection.

Yoshio Takamizawa, a 60-year-old worker at the broccoli farm in Minamimaki, said, “I don’t just teach them how to cut or plant broccoli, but how to plan (for business) both in the short and long run, and the management.”

As a whole, Japanese agriculture has become more and more dependent on interns. In 2018, their ranks nearly doubled from about 28,000 in 2014, according to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry.

Japan’s 1.75 million farmers had average age of 66.6 in 2018, and their population is down from 2.61 million in 2010, the data show.

Around 50 interns from Benguet are sent to the Nagano region every year. With revisions to the program recently made to address Japan’s labor crunch, they can now stay for up to five years.

The technical internship program started in 1993 with the aim of transferring skills to developing regions of the world. But it is often criticized as way to import cheap labor and is notorious for abuses, including low and unpaid wages, excessive hours, violence and sexual harassment.

Toshihiro Shimizu, a 50-year-old senior official of the Japan Agriculture Exchange Council, which coordinates the Yatsugatake training program for Benguet’s farmers, claimed this particular plan “coincides with the original purpose of the program and can alleviate the acute labor shortages at Japanese farmlands.”

The state-sponsored program also came under fire after thousands of interns disappeared from their workplaces. A survey of those who were tracked down by authorities later revealed that many left after feeling they had been mistreated.

According to the Justice Ministry, about 9,000 technical interns vanished in 2018 alone, accounting for 2.1 percent of the 424,394 in Japan that year. The ratio has been around 2 percent every year since 2014.

JAEC’s Shimizu said he believes there have been no cases of anyone going AWOL in the Yatsugatake program since it began in 2007 because the screening interviews conducted on the 100 or so candidates each year function as a deterrent.

“We only select people with agricultural backgrounds, checking whether the person’s family is engaged in the business or has an educational background in farming. I think this is an ideal model,” Shimizu said. “More than 90 percent of those who interned in Japan are engaged in farming once they go back to Benguet.”

Before the project began, Masaki Yokomori, who used to raise lettuce and Chinese cabbage in Yatsugatake, went to Benguet in 2006 to find one of the candidate sites. Afterward, he started coaching residents on how to hone their skills and increase productivity to raise their incomes.

To address soil problems caused by fertilizers and pesticide, Yokomori demonstrated organic farming techniques using wood vinegar and compost, persuading Benguet officials to build a facility to make the vinegar.

“Another issue in Benguet is the ability to ensure a stable supply,” Yokomori, now 79 and retired, said, emphasizing the importance of planned cultivation. “Planting the same crop on the same ground continuously will damage the soil.”

Yokomori stressed the significance of the Yatsugatake program, saying, “It is easier to teach those who come back home after gaining some expertise in Japan.”

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Yoneo Shizukuda, 64, a lettuce farmer and Minamimaki lawmaker who accepts technical interns, said shipping methods must be improved in Benguet as the local practice of shipping lettuce without boxing it undermines its quality. He also said they can slash costs by cutting out middlemen.

JAEC’s Shimizu said shipping improvements are underway thanks to the Japanese program, with up to 2 tons of vegetables put into containers with ice and sent more than 200 km south to Manila every week.

“The vegetables are shipped more frequently with fewer middlemen. They are targeted at wealthy consumers as demand is increasing amid the country’s fast economic growth,” Shimizu said. Now those Benguet vegetables fetch prices up to 1.5 times higher than those sold in the capital, he added.

Carmi Agmaliw, 25, who has been working at a lettuce farm in Minamimaki since April 2017, said she learned the quality of Japanese vegetables is good because of the attention paid to time management.

Agmaliw, whose family grows bok choy, a Chinese cabbage, said Filipino farmers often rush the harvest.

“In Benguet, when the price of the vegetable is high, people harvest, although the fertilizer (has not yet been absorbed by) the plants” and the quality is not so good. “But I learned that for good quality, they should wait to harvest,” she said.

She said her plan is to inherit the family business back home.

“I am putting my earnings in the bank. I am planning to plant bok choy or lettuce in a greenhouse if I have enough money. I’ll try to invest,” she said.

Television ratings set during Japan’s loss against South Africa in the Rugby World Cup quarterfinals reached an average of 41.6 percent in eastern Japan, the highest of any match in the current tournament, a rating agency said Monday.

Video Research Ltd. said the rating for the live broadcast of the game Sunday by public broadcaster NHK hit 49.1 percent at one point in the Kanto region, of which Tokyo is part. South Africa defeated Japan 26-3 in the game.

In the Kansai region, which includes Osaka and its vicinity, the rating peaked at 47.9 percent, and the average figure stood at 41.4 percent.

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The peak ratings in Kanto and Kansai were both marked in the second half of the game.

The average ratings in the Kanto region for Japan’s matches at the ongoing World Cup have steadily risen as the Brave Blossoms exceeded expectations, winning all four pool-stage games to qualify for the quarterfinals for the first time.

The rating was 18.3 percent in their match against Russia on the opening day of the World Cup in late September, before increasing further in the game versus the higher-ranked Ireland — in which Japan clinched an unlikely victory — and reaching 32.8 percent in the clash against Samoa.

Their match against Scotland on Oct. 13 peaked at 53.7 percent, with an average rating of 39.2 percent registered in the Kanto region.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga praised the national rugby team at a news conference Monday for opening a new chapter in their history.

“Unfortunately, they lost to South Africa, but they did not give up and played hard in hopes of clinching victory until the very end, which was consistent throughout the Brave Blossoms’ games,” Suga said.

“The players of the Japanese team gave the whole of Japan excitement and dreams, and moved us,” the top government spokesman said.

“I’d like to congratulate the players on their endeavor and on opening a new door in history.”

The government Monday decided to take steps to prevent poisonous foreign fire ants from settling in Japan.

“A situation totally different from the past has been confirmed,” Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told a meeting of relevant ministers. “The government will join forces to prevent fire ants from becoming an established species in the country.”

On Friday, the Environment Ministry said that fire ants are highly likely to have spread from the Aomi container terminal at the Port of Tokyo in Koto Ward.

At the meeting, the government confirmed countermeasures including plans to set up insecticide bait on the entire port premises and to investigate various areas, including those outside the 2-kilometer radius around the facility.

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The government also decided to check 65 ports across the country for fire ants and take additional measures where necessary.

Japan has seen 45 fire ant cases since the first was confirmed in June 2017. Over 50 winged queen ants were found at the Aomi container terminal, with some of them likely to have flown to other areas.