Shibuya's Iconic Crossing Bustling in Joy for Japan's Win over Germany

Tokyo, Nov. 24 (Jiji Press)--The iconic scramble crossing in Tokyo's busy Shibuya district was crowded with people celebrating Japan's historic victory over Germany in the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and in a state of slight disarray late Wednesday night, with police officers deployed for traffic control.

Throngs of young people and others who were watching the two teams' opening clash in the ongoing World Cup on their smartphones started to gather around the crossing soon after the end of the match, jubilantly cheering over the stunning result for Japan and sharing their joy.

Soon after the crosswalk signal turned green, the swarm of people, with some of them jumping up and down, crossed the scramble crossing near Shibuya Station while pointing their index fingers up in the air and shouting, "Nippon! Nippon!" Nippon means Japan in Japanese.

Although Germany led Japan 1-0 at half-time in the Group E match in the Qatari capital of Doha on the day, two goals in the second half, by Ritsu Doan, 24, in the 30th minute and Takuma Asano, 28, in the 38th minute, helped Japan edge the four-time World Cup champion.

"It's amazing," Yuito Kawamura, a 21-year-old university student who came to Shibuya with friends, said, excited over the dramatic come-from-behind victory. "I want Asano to score a goal again," he added.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]