OSAKA -- Japanese and foreign children from the Kansai region will take part in their own version of the World Cup soccer finals here in May as part of festivities leading up to the actual event, according to organizers.

The Ikuno World Cup will kick off May 3 in Ikuno Ward, where many Korean residents live. About 160 young players from many nations, including China, South Korea, Germany, England and Tunisia, are expected to show their mettle on the field.

Students from the Osaka Chinese School and the South Korean Keongook Grade School in the city, as well as those from Deutsche Schule Kobe School and Marist Brothers International School in Kobe, are among those expected to take part in the games.

The children will play five-a-side indoor soccer on 32 teams in preliminaries and championships that mirror the actual World Cup. The organizers also plan to start a program in late April to introduce the children to each other's languages, food and culture.

The World Cup soccer finals will be jointly hosted by Japan and South Korea and run from May 31 to June 30.

383,000 fans expected

Japan expects 443,000 visitors between May 31 and June 30, including 383,000 spectators for the World Cup soccer finals Japan and South Korea will cohost during that time, according to projections by the Land, Infrastructure and Transport Ministry.

The ministry also projects that 3.08 million people will travel to the 10 host cities and prefectures in Japan to see matches, with 1.6 million going by train, 1.11 million by car and 360,000 by air. The projections are based on the number of transport and soccer tickets sold so far and the assumption that the two host countries make it past the first-round stage.

From June 11 to 14, when matches deciding which teams playing in Japan will advance to the 16-nation second round will be held, some 810,000 people are expected to travel across the country.

Tokyo-Oita flights on June 16 will be the busiest air route during the competition, with 1,800 people expected to fly to Oita to see the first second-round match in Japan.

With 1,400 expected passengers, Tokyo-Sapporo flights on June 1 will be the next busiest route. On that day, Sapporo will host one of the first two first-stage matches in Japan.

Tokyo-Osaka flights on June 13, the day before Japan plays its third and final first-round match, will also be very busy, as 1,300 people are expected to fly to Osaka.

June 12 will be the busiest for bullet trains as 31,000 passengers are expected to use trains to see games in Osaka and Miyagi Prefecture.

The ministry predicts that during the World Cup, 2.5 million spectators will be staying in hotels and inns in Japan, with a daily peak of 150,000 spectators expected for June 11.