Australia v Japan - Live Today at 2pm

Japan is a country of contrasts.

On one hand, it is a country of lively cities, sake, Sudoku and some kick-ass samurai films.

But it's also a country with a dark past.

(Cue endless shots of Hiroshima, Hideki Tojo and Kazuyuki Toda)

It's also a burgeoning football nation. Since the J-League was founded, the Japanese national team has improved, and now they prepare to kick off their third World Cup finals in a row. World Cup Weekly caught up with midfieider Junichi Inamoto to ask him about their big game against Australia.

INAMOTO: (Starts speaking in Japanese about Kurosawa films or something)

TRANSLATOR: Of course, it's not going to be easy. Australia are a good team, and have some good players. They have Kewell, Viduka, and Luke Wilkshire, so it's not going to be easy. They have good players, and Guus Hiddink is a good manager. They also have Lucas Neill. We know that he's a dirty bastard, and he could break our legs.

But we're a good team. We have spirit, and determination. Our coach, Zico, has got us playing well, and we're confident that, if we play well, we can win, even if Neill kicks the s**t out of us. Then anything could happen.

Can the Japanese beat Australia, like Inamoto thinks? Tune in to the World Cup to find out.

Australia is a country of contrasts.

Posted By: World Cup Weekly on June 12th 2006 at 13:15:20

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