Last week Japan experienced two momentous but seemingly disparate events; the passage of the security laws and the victory of the national rugby team, the Brave Blossoms, over South Africa. Two very different events, but they both demonstrate the need for Japan to finally come to grips with post-postwar changes that have been building for the past 20-plus years.
Amanaki Lelei Mafi and Karne Hesketh may not seem like typically Japanese names, but as members of the Japanese national team they combined in the last seconds of their game against South Africa to create an upset that will forever be a part of Japanese sports history. It also created a great outpouring of pride in Japan for the Brave Blossoms, even among those who had previously disparaged having non-Japanese on their national side through the rather loose rules of World Rugby.
The question is whether the realization that the Brave Blossoms would never have gotten close to their victory without the many non-Japanese players on the team will translate into an understanding that Japan will never again be a player on the world stage unless it actually opens to the rest of the world.