Although the whole nation has been dismayed by the recent wave of reports of serious crimes committed by 17-year-olds, everyone must have been excited and impressed by the teenagers playing in the high-school baseball championship tournament held at Koshien Stadium, regardless of who won and who lost.
In particular, the national final between Chiben Wakayama and Tokaidai Urayasu was such an exciting seesaw of a game that it had millions glued to their television screens.
Competing in the two-week tournaments were 49 teams, which had qualified after winning local primaries featuring 4,119 schools. All the players were boys aged 16 to 18. The earnest way they played brightened and invigorated the entire nation.