The drama of the World Cup has implications for politics in Japan and South Korea. To be sure, soccer and politics are two different games, one a competition for skill and physical stamina and the other a struggle for power and interests. Nevertheless, we can draw lessons from the performances of the Japanese and South Korean national teams, in particular how they adopted new methods and met with great success -- unlike their nations' leaders, who continue to play the same old political games.
The Japanese are somewhat disappointed about the failure of their team to win its match with Turkey, while South Koreans are overjoyed about the fact that their team became the first Asian country to advance to the World Cup semifinals, even if it failed to reach the final.
Regardless of these outcomes, as cohosts both Japan and South Korea deserve praise for one thing: Their teams achieved their original goal of surviving the first round of matches. The South Korean team went as far as to enter the rank of the four best teams alongside Brazil, Germany and Turkey by beating such European teams as Poland, Portugal, Italy and Spain. This is why the entire country has been gripped by euphoria.