"We lost the game but had great time at the stadium," was how Japanese national Yoichi Watanabe described last Wednesday's encounter between the Soca Warriors and his country's home team.
The "we" to whom he referred was a group of some 100 fellow Japanese, who have become enamoured with Trinidad and Tobago largely through association with steelband music, many of them making the annual trek to perform with local orchestras at the Panorama competition. Watanabe, a music producer and audio engineer, has recorded several local steelbands, including three CDs for Sagicor Exodus.
Speaking with the Sunday Express shortly after the game his country won two-nil, Watanabe said: "We were overwhelmed inside the stand, as there were 60,000 fans and only 100 supporting Trinidad and Tobago but that wasn't the issue for us. We had a 38-member steelband and played Destra's "Fly" and "Fighter" (aka "Soca Warriors") by Maximus Dan and we had a great time.
"Some of the steelband action was captured by one of our major television stations, Channel 6, who were drawn to our section by the music from these instruments. They showed us on the evening news next day with a full minute of the Panland Steel Orchestra, which featured Panorama regulars like Aiko Sugano playing "Flag Woman".
"Next day, they visited the factory of a Japanese pan tuner and did a five-minute piece showing nice coverage of pan. The steelband for the game was organised by Kayos Kawashima, who imports pans from Trinidad and who liaised with the Japanese Football Federation for us to get permission to play inside Tokyo stadium. He is also the founder, organiser and general manager of the annual Yokohama steelband fiesta, which will take place this year on August 26 and 27.