Daigo Umehara's Event Schedule 2015

- Canada Cup's Master Series [January 9-11]
- 5th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 18]
- Yonpahi radio show [January 23]
- 6th Niconico Shotenkaigi [January 25]
- Taipei Game Show [Jan 31]
- Tokaigi 2015 [Feb 1]

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

How will Evo handle politics?

This post is inspired by the recent developments of the island disputes between Japan - China, and Japan - South Korea.

In case you don't follow the news, there's "China's worst outbreak of anti-Japan sentiment in decades" going on. The cause is Senkaku Islands (just Google "Senkaku Islands dispute").

Here's what going on.
1. The islands is currently under Japan's control.
2. Japan arrested (and later released) captain of a Chinese fishing boat in the territory.
3. China is mad. Big protests followed.
4. Chinese activists made unauthorized landing, by swimming, after the boat was stopped by Japan Coast Guard. They were later detained and deported.
5. Japanese activists did exactly the same things. They were also stopped and questioned by the JCG.
6. Japanese government itself bought the islands from the owners, just before the Japanese nationalists/extremists do, to prevent any crazy development.
7. Crazy developments happened anyway in China. (Some Chinese protesters attacked a Japanese restaurant and later found out that the owner is actually Chinese, etc, etc.)
8. Japanese investors are shutting down business/factories in China. (A big anime concert in Shanghai from top Japanese artists are also being canceled (after heavily promoted).)
9. One thousand Chinese fishing boats are reportedly going to the waters near the islands.

Japan and South Korea are also having a territorial dispute (just Google "Liancourt Rocks dispute") that lead to a South Korean soccer player holding a sign "[The Islands] is ours" walking around the field at Olympic 2012.

Since making political statements is prohibited in the events, the player was later barred from receiving the bronze medal.

Now the situations are getting worse, we fear that politics will eventually ruin a big fighting game tournament. The last thing we want to see is someone (from any country) waving a sign with political statement like that at Evolution. But first of all, shouldn't Evo have a rule to prevent this first?

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