COMMUNICATIONS

The final of the WBC (World Baseball Classic) tournament took place in March 2023. It is an international baseball competition. The Japanese team won a dramatic victory. Many Japanese were bursting with joy.

I, too, was pleased of course. But this was mingled with a degree of anxiety. Murakami, of the Yakult Swallows, woke up; Imanaga, who plays for the DeNA BayStars, showed how good a pitcher he can be; and the Giant’s Okamoto hit a home run right on cue. The result was a growing sense of trepidation.

For many years I have supported the Hanshin baseball team. So, it is a problem if Murakami, who plays in the same league, gets his act together. I want Hanshin’s rivals to remain as dull as they were, frankly.

I have no intention of belittling the success of Japan in taking on the world. But I also have an intensely “local” love of the Hanshin team, which I feel extremely keenly. And this more local love serves as a bulwark against patriotism.