Lee Seung-sin isn’t just carrying the ball for Japan’s national rugby team, but for ethnic Koreans in the country.

One of Japan’s rising stars, the 21-year-old native of Kobe is hoping to be an inspiration for the ethnic Korean community.

“I also have a Japanese common name, but I want to take pride in my ethnic name throughout my life,” said Lee, who has South Korean citizenship.

“Many ethnic Koreans use common names in their social lives. But if I can make a career as Lee Seung-sin, my native name, on Japan’s national team and in Japanese society, I think that will encourage ethnic Koreans from different walks of life.”

A graduate of Osaka Korean High School, Lee is the first alumnus of a school for ethnic Koreans in Japan to have been selected for the Brave Blossoms.

QUICK RISE TO FIRST CAP

Lee competed in the Japan High School Rugby Championship as captain of the Osaka Korean High School team when he was a third-year student there. He was also selected to play on Japan’s high school national team and on Junior Japan, a team of players around 20 years of age.

After graduating from high school, Lee went on to attend Teikyo University, a rugby powerhouse, but he dropped out in his sophomore year seeking to play overseas. But that hope was thwarted by the novel coronavirus pandemic and he joined Japan’s top-level rugby league sooner than many of his contemporaries.

Lee was named a starter during the 2021-2022 season, his second year on the Kobelco Kobe Steelers team in Division 1 of Japan Rugby League One.

His style of play caught the attention of Jamie Joseph, head coach of the Japanese national team, and Lee joined the national team at the end of May.

According to Osaka Korean High School, Lee is the first alumnus of a school for ethnic Koreans to have been selected for the national 15-a-side rugby team of Japan, which comes with no age or other restrictions.

“It has been my dream since my high school days to contribute to the ethnic Korean community,” Lee said during a national team camp in Miyazaki in June. “I will be happy if I can give hope to as many people as possible and encourage some to give rugby a try.”

Lee earned his first cap as a member of the Japanese national team on June 25 when he replaced Takuya Yamasawa, the starting stand-off, during the second half of a test match against Uruguay’s national team.

In a test match against the French national team on July 2, Lee unexpectedly got the start as stand-off because Yamasawa, who was in the starting lineup, was sidelined after he became infected with the novel coronavirus.

DERIVING STRENGTH FROM ETHNICITY

Lee attended schools for ethnic Koreans from his kindergarten years. Influenced by his father and two elder brothers, he started chasing after the oval ball from the age of 4.

He learned about the origins and history of ethnic Koreans while growing up.

“I have had an opportunity to learn about our identity, or why we are different from others,” Lee said. “I have clear ideas as to how we should be and how we should be living. Perhaps that is showing itself in my strength as a rugby player.”

At a news conference for announcing members of the national training squad, Joseph, the head coach, said Lee has a hungry spirit and that he has always made it known that he is anxious to wear the jersey of the national team.

Lee said he has long had a craving for a “cherry blossom jersey,” rather than a place on South Korea’s national team.

Engraved in his boyhood memories are images of Hirotoki Onozawa, who cut an impressive figure as wing three-quarterback when the Japanese national team was not yet able to compete successfully against the best teams of the world as it does now.

Lee’s “craving” turned into a clear goal when Japan hosted the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Kobe serving as one of the venues. Lee saw up close how the Japanese national team made it to the quarterfinals.

“That shocked me more than anything else,” he said. “That led me to embrace a strong desire to be on that stage myself.”

Lee said he has never found life difficult as a member of his ethnic minority.

“Honestly, I have never faced discrimination,” he said. “News reports say some are prejudiced to believe that (Japanese) don’t get along (with South and North Koreans). But I have been lucky with the people around me. People were nice to me when I was in a rugby school.”

The stand-off, also known as fly-half, makes important decisions in the game. Competition for the key position on the national team will intensify ahead of the World Cup to be held in France next year.

In addition to Yamasawa, Lee’s rivals include Rikiya Matsuda and Yu Tamura, both of whom competed during the 2019 World Cup in Japan.

Japan lost to France 42-23 on July 2. The Brave Blossoms will face off against the French national team again in another test match at Tokyo’s National Stadium on July 9.