Korean Media: "Lost to South Korea and China," Japanese Companies Fully Exit the World Cup!

On June 16, Korean media outlet *Herald Economic* published an article stating that the logos of Japanese companies—once major sponsors of the World Cup—have completely disappeared from the tournament stage. Companies from the Middle East, South Korea, and China are rapidly filling this void with their substantial financial power.

According to *Asahi Shimbun*, from the 1980s to the early 2000s, Japanese firms such as JVC, Fujifilm, and Sony were regular participants in the World Cup.

Driven by the booming global markets for home appliances and video equipment, these companies actively leveraged the World Cup to enhance their brand visibility worldwide.

At the time, a senior executive from a major Japanese consumer electronics company recalled: “The promotional impact of the World Cup far exceeded that of other sporting events like the Olympics.” He added, “Inviting overseas clients through sponsorship privileges greatly benefited our business operations.”

However, after the 2014 Brazil World Cup, Japanese companies vanished from the list of official sponsors for three consecutive tournaments.

In their place came Hyundai Motor and OB Beer from South Korea, Saudi Aramco and Qatar Airways from Saudi Arabia and Qatar, and Lenovo and Hisense from China.

The primary reason for Japanese companies’ exit from the World Cup is their business restructuring due to falling behind in global competition.

Once-leading Japanese conglomerates have scaled back their consumer-facing businesses and shifted focus toward business-to-business services or social infrastructure development.

For example, Toshiba’s television brand “REGZA” was sold to China’s Hisense, which now participates in this year’s World Cup as a sponsor under the Hisense brand.

Sony has also downsized its home appliance division. Instead of sponsoring the World Cup directly, Sony established a technology joint venture with FIFA to provide technical support such as the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system for the tournament.

*Asahi Shimbun* reported that Japan’s record-breaking yen depreciation has increased the burden of sponsorship costs denominated in U.S. dollars, which appears to be another significant obstacle hindering Japanese companies.

Original article: toutiao.com/article/1868155271446536/

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) alone.