Hooligans "Nihongo wakarimasen!

[cstaylor]

World Cup lawyers send out SOS for interpreters

The prospects of a large number of arrested foreigners at World Cup sites has lawyers fearing they are short of interpreters, the Mainichi has learned.

but the cops can browbeat you in your native tongue:

In sharp contrast to lawyers, police forces using taxpayers' funds will have many interpreters on hand.

The Kanagawa Prefectural Police are best prepared after already securing 204 language specialists, including those who speak Croatian and Arabic.

::sigh:: I've heard it said that Americans have a hundred different ways of cursing, but I think the Japanese must have a thousand different ways for bellyaching.

[Crispy]

Why are Japan's problems different than any other country that hosts a big international sports meet?

[cstaylor]

For all their bellyaching about the World Cup, why did they agree to host it in the first place?

[kamome]

Japan likes to hold these international events because of the prestige it brings to the country and because it presents an opportunity to showcase how "modern" and "international" Japan is. However, that's the government's policy; I think people at the grass roots level still aren't ready to accept having so many gaijin in their midst.

[cstaylor]

[quote="kamome"]Japan likes to hold these international events because of the prestige it brings to the country and because it presents an opportunity to showcase how "modern" and "international" Japan is. However, that's the government's policy]
Okay, but no one forced these villages into offering themselves as hosts for the teams.

[Crispy]

Even the people in the big cities might not be used to it, especially if all the soccer fans decide to play tourist too.

[cstaylor]

...gaijin aren't a big deal. I run across at least one or two every morning, especially from Ishikawacho and Honmoku (two places where a lot of gaijin live in the Yokohama area).

Where I live, I haven't seen a single one yet, but my brother-in-law's neighbor is from England, so they're around.