/jp/ - Otaku Culture

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East Asian people sure are cheeky cunts m8

A brand-obsessed and patriotic consumer base makes the Yokohama Rubber deal more significant than it may seem. For 18 years – from 1982 to 2000 –Manchester United shirts were emblazoned with the logo of the Osaka-based electronics manufacturer Sharp. This remains a source of pride for Hiroki Miyaji, the MUFC Tokyo supporters club secretary, who says that Sharp is the only United sponsor to which he has ever developed a genuine attachment.

Miyaji says. “Japanese people are very picky when it comes to the coolness of the shirt sponsor. Ideally, we would want a company that is viewed favourably and doesn’t endorse other teams at the same time like Bwin or Emirates have. The look of the Chelsea shirt isn’t especially well liked and that’s partly because of their Korean sponsor, Samsung.”

Dr Masahiko Fujinaga, the chairman of the Chelsea supporters club of Japan, agrees. “Our club has members of all ages and everyone, myself included, is very happy that Yokohama Rubber will be the new sponsor,” he says. “To be honest(LEL), a lot of people held off from buying Chelsea shirts while Samsung was the sponsor. You will be aware of the diplomatic issues between Japan and Korea – most ordinary Japanese won’t say so publicly, but I think almost everyone is quite fed up of Korea and the Korean people right

When you ask people at the supporters’ club, most of them say they are not interested in a shirt with Samsung written on it. I believe this reflects how most sensible Japanese feel about Korea now.

But by appealing to one side of regional sensitivities in east Asia, are they in danger of alienating the other? Kyungcheol You, founder of Chelsea FC Korea Supporters Club, suggests so. “Many fans have a negative feeling around the new shirt sponsorship because Yokohama is a Japanese brand,” he says. “If it’s Samsung, Korean people can wear it on the street without any problems but it would be a bit challenging to wear the new uniform publicly when it says the name of a Japanese brand on their chest. Maybe less so if it were a well-established global brand like Sony or Toyota.

“I firmly believe that it will have a negative impact on the shirt sales from Chelsea supporters in Korea, and possibly other Asian countries such as CHINA. It will become a very good topic for any football banter around Chelsea FC in Korea for other supporters. And whenever there are issues between Korea and Japan, it will be even more serious for us to support Chelsea, even if it’s just a shirt sponsorship.”

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2015/may/12/chelsea-japan-yokohama-rubber-yoshinori-muto