Soccer fever is also sweeping over Japan as the first wave of foreign soccer fans arrive in Tokyo for 2002 World Cup action. Meanwhile, Japanese authorities are determined to clamp down on an emerging problem －－ a black market for World Cup tickets.
They're out singing on the street, they're in the bars, and they’re in all the restaurants. Japan, which is co－hosting the 2002 World Cup with South Korea, is gearing up for a soccer invasion by fans and the mood is merry.
So far the Irish appear the best represented, but let's not forget fans from other countries. This woman says the French are the champions of the world. Overall, the atmosphere is cheerful and most fans in a mood to party.
A football fan said, "We're doing our damndest. We tried the noodles and we tried the sushi and the whole lot, so no problem at all. The hardest thing to acclimatize is the jet lag."
But so far, the expected flood of fans has not materialized and those that are present remain something of a curiosity to the Japanese.
But some of the fans are arriving without tickets, complaining that they were too difficult to get hold of.
And there's also another problem. Two British men were stopped at Narita Airport in Japan, found to have hundreds of World Cup tickets in their possession. Japanese authorities believe the tickets may have been destined for the black market.
It's a problem that the world soccer body, FIFA, has been aware of for some time, and the organizers of this World Cup had hoped to combat it by having each ticket individually named.
Recently though organizing committees in South Korea and Japan have admitted that checking this properly will be impractical.
And with the opening match in Seoul approaching, it seems authorities may only know the full extent of the problem once the tournament kicks off.
Editor:May CCTV.com
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