By TOMOHIKO KANEKO/ Staff Writer
April 22, 2023 at 07:30 JST
National soccer team head coach Hajime Moriyasu caused a stir when he was seen frequently writing in a notebook on the sidelines as he guided the Samurai Blue in the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Now, Kokuyo Co. wants others to emulate Moriyasu's diligence by distributing a specially designed notebook to student soccer clubs in honor of the celebrated coach, who led Japan to the round of 16.
The leading stationery maker is looking to present a total of 50,000 notebooks--100 each for 500 teams nationwide that are to be selected by lottery--to show the importance of continuing to work hard.
Children of high school age or younger across the nation are eligible for the giveaway, which is dedicated to the notebook Moriyasu relied on to lead his resilient team to comeback wins over powerhouses Spain and Germany.
“We want children to learn the importance of never giving up until the very end,” said a public relations representative of Kokuyo.
During the World Cup, Moriyasu was repeatedly seen scribbling in the notebook alongside the pitch on the live TV broadcasts. He is believed to have taken note of the team’s problems and other strategic elements while coaching in the games.
His substitutions for a succession of players based on the notebook contributed greatly to Japan’s stunning upset victories in the World Cup.
Moriyasu’s memorandum was thus dubbed in social media as the “death note” that killed off the tournament’s biggest favorites, drawing much attention. This was in tribute to the popular manga title of the same name.
What was used by Moriyasu is said to be from Kokuyo’s B-ruled Campus line in A6 and B6 sizes.
Kokuyo worked out plans to donate a notebook designed in the image of the sport as part of efforts to express its gratitude for the unexpected spotlight cast on its product.
The newly developed A6-size notebook consists of 60 pages. Its blue cover is decorated with a white line and a soccer ball.
The cover was designed based on the motif of the “Mitoma's 1-millimeter miracle,” which refers to Japan's midfielder Kaoru Mitoma just barely preventing the ball from going out of bounds against Spain and passing it back to midfielder Ao Tanaka, who scored the winning goal.
The cover also features the message “never forget the regret” to underscore the hopes that young athletes will “always keep in mind their own chagrin and work hard toward the future.”
On the back of the notebook’s cover is an illustration of a goalkeeper as well as a field player kicking a ball.
High schoolers and far younger athletes nationwide, regardless of their teams’ types and sizes, are eligible for the program, which ended taking solicitations on April 17.
The notebook, intended exclusively for the limited-time project, will not be sold to the general public.
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The cover of a Campus notebook specially designed in tribute to soccer (Provided by Kokuyo Co.)
