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What's up around the Prime Minister

Prime Minister Receives a Courtesy Call from Mr. Zico and Mr. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto of the Japan National Team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup


Tuesday, May 16, 2006
Photograph of Prime Minister being presented with a Japan National Team uniform bearing his name Photograph of Prime Minister Koizumi wearing the presented uniform and enjoying talks with Mr. Zico and Mr. Miyamoto
Photograph of Prime Minister writing a message for the members of the Japan National Team Photograph of Mr. Zico and Mr. Miyamoto paying a courtesy call on Prime Minister Koizumi

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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi received a courtesy call from representatives of the Japan National Team for the 2006 FIFA World Cup at the Prime Minister's Official Residence. The representatives were Mr. Zico, the coach, Mr. Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, a player, and Mr. Saburo Kawabuchi, the President of the Japan Football Association.

At the beginning, Prime Minister Koizumi spoke with Mr. Zico, who had announced his nomination of the 23 members for the national team on the previous day. Prime Minister Koizumi said, "I presume that the nomination of players must have been a difficult decision," to which Mr. Zico replied, "Although it is difficult to make a conclusion that satisfies everyone, I maintained my standards."

Prime Minister Koizumi then put on a memorial uniform with "KOIZUMI" printed on it and the jersey number 10, which was presented to him by Mr. Miyamoto. After this, Prime Minister Koizumi shared his thoughts with Mr. Miyamoto, who played in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, about the excitement he felt while watching those 2002 games held in Japan, as well as his memories of visiting the locker room after a game in the tournament.

Finally, as a message of encouragement to all the members of the Japan National Team, Prime Minister Koizumi gave Mr. Miyamoto another Japan National Team uniform with the two Japanese characters for "challenge" printed on it.