Oshi-Katsu Chronicle 2002: World Cup Street Cheering, Chaku-Uta Ringtones, and Ken Hirai's "Big Old Clock"

In 2002, Japan and South Korea co-hosted the FIFA World Cup. Supporters wearing blue replica jerseys filled streets across the country as Japan’s national team reached the knockout rounds (the round of 16) for the first time. Fans who could not get stadium tickets gathered in front of giant screens to celebrate goals with strangers, spreading “public viewing” nationwide.

In music, South Korean singer BoA’s first Japanese album, Ken Hirai’s cover of “Ookina Furudokei” (“Big Old Clock”), and Chitose Hajime’s “Wadatsumi no Ki” were major hits. In December, chaku-uta ringtones began, letting fans set an artist’s actual recorded singing voice as their mobile phone ringtone. In autumn, the television anime Mobile Suit Gundam SEED and NARUTO began airing, and the new Marunouchi Building (Marubiru) opened in front of Tokyo Station.

The 2002 FIFA World Cup: Public Viewing and “Beckham-sama” Fever

From May 31 to June 30, the co-hosted 2002 FIFA World Cup took place. Coached by Philippe Troussier, Japan drew 2–2 with Belgium in its opening match and beat Russia 1–0 in its second match to earn the country’s first-ever World Cup victory. Japan then defeated Tunisia 2–0 to advance in first place from Group H, and although the team lost 0–1 to Turkey in the rain at Miyagi Stadium in the round of 16, reaching the knockout stage for the first time electrified the entire nation (Japan Football Association, in Japanese).

During this tournament, giant screens were set up at arenas and plazas away from the match stadiums so crowds could watch the live broadcasts together—a practice called public viewing. The 2002 World Cup was the first time gathering paying spectators to watch official broadcasts was run as an organized business in Japan. Fans wore replica jerseys for No. 7 Hidetoshi Nakata, red-mohawk midfielder Kazuyuki Toda, Junichi Inamoto, and Shinji Ono, painting rising-sun flags on their cheeks to cheer in the streets and at sports bars (interview with someone involved in running it, in Business Design, in Japanese).

First place in Group H

A draw with Belgium, then wins over Russia and Tunisia to reach the round of 16 for the first time.

Public viewing

Public viewing on big screens was held around the country, becoming a commercial model in Japan for the first time.

"Beckham-sama" and Nakatsue Village

England captain David Beckham's "soft mohawk" hairstyle sparked a craze, and Nakatsue Village's welcome for Cameroon made headlines.

Overseas players also drew intense attention. England captain David Beckham became a phenomenon under the nickname “Beckham-sama,” and men across Japan ordered his “soft mohawk” hairstyle—cropped short on both sides and standing up in the center—at hair salons. “Beckham-sama” made the top ten of the year’s buzzword awards, with the general manager of the Westin Hotel Awaji, where the England squad stayed, accepting the prize at the ceremony (Jiyu Kokuminsha, in Japanese).

Broadcast Theme Songs, Ken Hirai’s “Big Old Clock,” and BoA’s No. 1 Album

Theme songs for the World Cup television broadcasts also climbed the charts. Dragon Ash’s “FANTASISTA” served as the theme song for Nippon TV’s coverage, while Porno Graffitti’s “Mugen” was the theme for NHK’s broadcasts, and both became major hits during the tournament (Dragon Ash official site, Porno Graffitti official site, both in Japanese).

On August 28, Ken Hirai released the single “Ookina Furudokei” (“Big Old Clock”). The song was already familiar as a children’s song adapted from an old American popular tune, and Hirai revived it with an acoustic arrangement and his gentle falsetto. Chosen as the August and September song on NHK’s Minna no Uta, it won listeners across generations and was featured in year-end television commercials for au’s “EZ Chaku-Uta.” Meanwhile, Amami Oshima singer Chitose Hajime scored a long-running hit with her February debut single “Wadatsumi no Ki,” sung with distinctive traditional vocal inflections (Ken Hirai official site, in Japanese).

On March 13, South Korean singer BoA released her first Japanese album, LISTEN TO MY HEART. It debuted at No. 1 on Oricon’s weekly album ranking and went on to pass 1 million copies, making her the first Korean artist ever to top the Oricon album chart. Having debuted in South Korea in August 2000 at age 13 and learned Japanese for her activities in Japan, she became a familiar presence on music programs and in commercials. At the year-end 44th Japan Record Awards, Ayumi Hamasaki’s “Voyage” won the Grand Prix and Mika Nakashima won Best New Artist (Avex, Natalie Music, Japan Composers Association, all in Japanese).

From Chaku-Melo to Chaku-Uta: The Singer’s Own Voice on Your Phone

On December 3, the au brand of KDDI and Okinawa Cellular Telephone launched “EZ Chaku-Uta” (chaku-uta, “ringtone songs”), the world’s first mobile music distribution service of its kind. Earlier chaku-melo ringtones reproduced only a song’s melody using the electronic sound chip inside the handset. By contrast, chaku-uta cut a 15-to-30-second excerpt—such as the chorus—directly from the CD master recording, letting users set the artist’s actual singing voice as their incoming call ringtone (Recochoku archive, KDDI announcement from the time, both in Japanese).

Chaku-melo (ringtone melodies)

Reproduces only a song's melody in 16-chord or 40-chord electronic tones, without vocals.

Chaku-uta (from December 2002)

Plays a roughly 30-second clip cut from the CD master recording with the singer's voice intact.

The first two compatible camera handsets, the A5302CA and A5303H, could record up to 15 seconds of video and came preloaded with CHEMISTRY’s ballad “My Gift to You” as a chaku-uta. Releasing the chorus of a new song on mobile phones ahead of the CD release date soon became a standard promotional strategy (KDDI announcement from the time, in Japanese).

Camera phones also spread across all major carriers. In April, au released its first handset with a built-in camera, the A3012CA, and NTT Docomo followed in June with the “SH251i” supporting its “i-shot” photo-mail service (KDDI, in Japanese).

Gokusen, Kisarazu Cat’s Eye, the New Marunouchi Building, and Hello! Project

In television drama, two series that became launching pads for young actors aired in 2002. From January to March, TBS broadcast Kisarazu Cat’s Eye, written by Kankuro Kudo, in which a former high-school baseball player told he has half a year to live (Junichi Okada) forms a phantom-thief gang with his local friends (Sho Sakurai, Yoshinori Okada, Ryuta Sato, and Takashi Tsukamoto). Its inventive structure modeled on the top and bottom halves of baseball innings inspired devoted fans, later movie sequels, and pilgrimages to Kisarazu in Chiba.

From April to July, Nippon TV aired the first season of Gokusen, adapted from Kozueko Morimoto’s manga, starring Yukie Nakama as “Yankumi,” an idealistic teacher and heir to a yakuza clan who stands up for her troubled students. Class 3-D featured Jun Matsumoto, Shun Oguri, Hiroki Narimiya, Yuma Ishigaki, and Tomohiro Waki, making Yankumi’s tracksuit and catchphrases household favorites.

On September 6, the rebuilt 37-story Marunouchi Building (“Marubiru”) opened in front of Tokyo Station’s Marunouchi South Exit, preserving the lower-facade look of the 1923 building while introducing select shops and dining with panoramic views that drew weekend shoppers to what had been a weekday business district (Mitsubishi Estate, in Japanese).

In idol pop, Maki Goto graduated from Morning Musume at Yokohama Arena on September 23 to pursue a solo career, while in June the 15 winners of the elementary-school “Hello! Project Kids Audition”—the future members of Berryz Kobo and °C-ute—were announced (ORICON NEWS, in Japanese).

Gundam SEED, NARUTO, Harry Potter, and Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

In October, two television anime series that vastly expanded 2000s anime fandom began airing. On October 5, Mobile Suit Gundam SEED premiered in the Saturday 6 p.m. MBS/TBS slot as the first 21st-century Gundam television series, depicting the conflict between genetically enhanced “Coordinators” and naturally born “Naturals.” The emotional clash between protagonist Kira Yamato and his friend Athrun Zala, Hisashi Hirai’s character designs, and hit theme songs by T.M.Revolution (“INVOKE”) and See-Saw (“Anna ni Issho Datta no ni”) won overwhelming support from female fans as well (Mobile Suit Gundam SEED official site, in Japanese).

Two days earlier, on October 3, NARUTO, adapted from Masashi Kishimoto’s manga about young ninja Naruto Uzumaki striving to become Hokage, premiered on TV Tokyo and grew into a global anime hit.

Foreign No. 1 & 2Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone & The Chamber of Secrets

Earned ¥20.3 billion and ¥18.0 billion at the Japanese box office.

Japanese film & animeThe Cat Returns, Gundam SEED, NARUTO

Studio Ghibli's double bill earned ¥6.46 billion in summer, and two flagship TV anime launched in October.

GamesKingdom Hearts & Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire

Square's PS2 Kingdom Hearts arrived in March, followed by GBA Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire in November.

Fandom in 2002Beyond the TV screen

• Big screensWorld Cup public viewing
• Cover songsA hit in a favorite voice
• Idol graduationFollowing the group or the solo career
• Phone ringtonesChaku-uta with the singer's voice
• GamesKingdom Hearts and Pokémon on GBA
• Comic MarketFan-made books in person

The same wish, to be near what you love, took many forms.

In theaters, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (¥20.3 billion) and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (¥18.0 billion) took first and second place among foreign films in the Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan’s 2002 statistics, while Studio Ghibli’s double feature The Cat Returns and Ghiblies: Episode 2 topped Japanese films at ¥6.46 billion (Motion Picture Producers Association of Japan, in Japanese).

In video games, Square released the PS2 action RPG Kingdom Hearts on March 28, sending hero Sora across Disney worlds alongside Donald and Goofy to Hikaru Utada’s theme song “Hikari” (Square Enix, in Japanese). On November 21, Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire launched for the Game Boy Advance, introducing two-on-two “Double Battles” and Pokémon “Abilities” (Pokémon official site, in Japanese). At Comic Market, the summer fair (C62) drew 480,000 attendees and the winter fair (C63) drew 450,000 over three days each (Comic Market Preparation Committee, in Japanese).

480,000

Total attendees at Comic Market 62 (summer)

450,000

Total attendees at Comic Market 63 (winter)

Source: Comic Market Preparation Committee

Key Events of the Year

1. Mar.au releases its first camera phone, the A3012CATechnology
2. Mar. 13BoA releases LISTEN TO MY HEARTMusic
3. Mar. 28Kingdom Hearts (PS2) is releasedGames
4. May 31–Jun. 30At the Japan–Korea World Cup, the Japan national team reaches the round of 16 for the first timeSports
5. Jun.Public viewings are held in many placesMedia
6. Aug. 9–11Comic Market 62 (480,000 total visits over three days)Fan works
7. Aug. 28Ken Hirai releases "Ookina Furudokei" (Grandfather's Clock)Music
8. Sep.Maki Goto graduates from Morning Musume.Idols
9. Sep.The Yomiuri Giants win the Central League pennant (86 wins, 52 losses, 2 ties)Sports
10. Oct.The Giants beat Seibu in the Japan Series to become Japan championsSports
11. Dec. 3au starts "EZ Chaku-uta," which turns recorded singing voices into ringtonesTechnology
12. Dec.At the 19th Buzzwords of the Year awards, the Grand Prizes go to "Tama-chan" and "World Cup (Nakatsue Village)"Society
13. Dec. 28–30Comic Market 63 (450,000 total visits over three days)Fan works
14. Dec. 31At the 44th Japan Record Awards, Ayumi Hamasaki's "Voyage" wins the Grand PrixMusic
15. During the yearHarry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released at the end of the previous year, ranks No. 1 at the foreign-film box office (20.3 billion yen)Film
16. During the yearThe Cat Returns / Ghiblies: Episode 2 ranks No. 1 at the Japanese-film box office (6.46 billion yen)Film

1. March 13BoA tops the album chartA first for a Korean artist
2. March 28Kingdom Hearts releasedSora adventures with Donald and Goofy
3. May 31 to June 30Japan-Korea World CupBig-screen public viewing spreads
4. August 28Ken Hirai's "Big Old Clock"A children's song in a favorite voice
5. OctoberGundam SEED and NARUTOTwo landmark anime series begin
6. December 3Chaku-uta beginsSinging voices reach the phone

Cheering moved from stadium seats to big screens, and music moved into the phone.

The Year’s Buzzword Awards

Grand PrizeTama-chan (the bearded seal that appeared in the Tama River)

Yuji Sasaki (discoverer of Tama-chan) and Yuko Kurozumi (Fuji TV)

Grand PrizeWorld Cup (Nakatsue Village)

Yasumu Sakamoto (mayor of Nakatsue Village)

Top 10Kashi-hagashi (banks pulling back loans)

On hold (no recipient)

Top 10Koe ni dashite yomitai Nihongo ("Japanese you want to read aloud," a bestselling book)

Takashi Saito (assistant professor, Meiji University)

Top 10Shinju fujin ("Madame Pearl," a daytime TV drama)

Keijiro Tsuru (producer, Tokai Television)

Top 10Daburu jusho ("double award," two Japanese Nobel Prize winners in one year)

Masatoshi Koshiba (professor emeritus, University of Tokyo) and Koichi Tanaka (Shimadzu Corporation)

Top 10Naibu kokuhatsu (whistleblowing)

Hiroaki Kushioka (author)

Top 10Beckham-sama ("Mr. Beckham")

Shinichiro Fujimoto (general manager, Westin Hotel Awaji)

Top 10Muneo House (a dance remix parodying scandal-hit lawmaker Muneo Suzuki)

Noriaki Sasaki (member of the House of Representatives)

Top 10Rachi (abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korea)

No recipient

Special AwardGODZILLA (Gojira, Matsui's nickname)

Hideki Matsui (player, Yomiuri Giants)

The grand prizes went to “Tama-chan”—the bearded seal that appeared near Maruko Bridge on the Tama River in August—and “World Cup (Nakatsue Village).” Alongside “Beckham-sama” in the top ten, a special prize went to “GODZILLA,” the nickname of Yomiuri Giants slugger Hideki Matsui, who hit 50 home runs to lead the Giants to the Japan Series title before declaring free agency to join the New York Yankees the following year (Jiyu Kokuminsha, Nippon Professional Baseball, Japan Series, all in Japanese).

In 2003, SMAP’s “Sekai ni Hitotsu Dake no Hana” passed 2 million copies, the Korean drama Winter Sonata began airing in Japan, and the Prince of Tennis musical premiered.