Journalists who write columns love to tie up their topics with current events. Still, I never thought I'd write about the World Cup soccer finals. I don't follow the sport, and I didn't see any connection between my education column and the international tournament. Until I saw the handout my kids brought home from school. Among the crumpled math papers and school lunch menus in my sons' backpacks was a letter to parents from the assistant principal. Dated just before the World Cup kickoff, the letter described the emergency procedures to be used if soccer riots broke out and asked for our cooperation in keeping the children safe from furigan (hooligans).
My first reaction was disbelief. Sure, I was aware of rising hysteria about the invasion by soccer barbarians of these peaceful shores, but I hadn't expected to hear from the school about hooligans. Our school is in Tokyo. The World Cup matches are in other cities. Surely our students were safe. Weren't they?
Here's what the handout said: We should warn our kids about hooligans and tell them to run to safety if they encounter rowdies. If we observe disturbances before school, we should keep our kids home and notify the school by telephone. The school would inform the board of education.