Despite an earthquake and a Tsunami severely damaging many parts of the country, Japan is still hoping to stage two soccer international friendly matches in March even though many thousands are feared dead after the 8.9 magnitude earthquake last Friday.
Kozo Tashima, Japan Football Association, General Secretary, has stated that more than ever it would mean a lot and send a message to the world if the country could stage the games which are still more than two weeks away, when Japan plays Montenegro on the 25th March at Shizuoka Stadium near Tokyo and New Zealand on the 29th March.
He has said that that we need to let people know that, regardless of the images that we see on CNN, Tokyo is okay and functional and order is being restored in the City. The world probably does not have an accurate view of the situation at present and the Japanese football community, as well as the entire Japanese sports world, can assist in returning the country to normality.
On Monday, however, an announcement was made, postponing all domestic matches set down for March. The football season will continue into July.
The Chairman of the J.League, Kazumi Ohigashi, has said that the situation is serious at present, with aftershocks still continuing. As they are unable to guarantee complete safety at the stadiums the J.League has decided to cancel all J1, J2 and NABISCO Cup matches for March.
Fixtures for J.League, NABISCO Cup are stretched and games will need to be played in July. These arrangements could affect Japanese plans to compete in the Copa America tournament as a guest in South America later this year.