Drenched in sweat, their hands bloodied from clapping and their voices hoarse from shouting – meet Japan's predominantly male and unashamedly macho “leadership section” cheerleaders.
The cheerleaders are part of a century-old tradition that some fear faces an existential crisis, with fewer students showing an interest in the hardcore art form.
But now there is a campaign for the squads and their counterparts in Japan's traditional “oendan” cheering groups to be registered as part of the country's intangible cultural heritage.
The “leadership section” cheerleaders are a formidable sight. Dressed in old-fashioned school-style uniforms, they are a mass of black at college baseball games as they chant, bang taiko drums and thrust their fists in rigid, martial moves.
“We give it our all to the point of ridiculousness, and that's what makes us so cool,” said Taisuke Ono, 21, a member of a squad at Tokyo's Waseda University.
“Even if we're trailing by 10 points and there's almost no chance of a comeback, we somehow manage to convince ourselves we can still win.”
Squads like Ono's typically perform alongside brass bands and American-style, mostly female, cheerleaders – a triumvirate known as “oendan” or “rooters”.
But the ranks of the male-dominated “leadership sections” have shrunk at a pace that far outstrips their counterparts, with about a dozen groups having disappeared in a period of 15 years, according to one survey.
Pandemic-era bans on shouting and restrictions on crowds only deepened the malaise.
Alarmed by the situation, dozens of universities joined forces last year in a campaign to win designation of the tradition as an “intangible cultural property”.
The label is awarded by Japan's culture minister to activities seen as having unique importance, such as calligraphy and traditional sake brewing.
Campaigners say the recognition would increase the squads' prestige and encourage new recruits, while some activities that have obtained the distinction in the past have been awarded government subsidies.
“We're now at a phase where the culture is about to vanish,” said Jun Tochimoto, who is leading the campaign.
“At the heart of what these cheerleaders do is the idea that they're training and improving themselves through the art of cheering – that's the mindset we hope will be preserved,” he said.
The decline began in earnest several decades ago, with potential recruits scared off by the macho image and rumours of hazing.
A holdover from Japan's Meiji period (1868-1912) counterculture, the squads are said to have been infused with a military style by students who were demobilised after the Second World War.
A draconian hierarchy prevailed in postwar years, with senior-year students deified as the emperor and freshmen roughed up as slaves, said Hiroshi Imazu, 76, a 1970 graduate of Tokyo's Chuo University.
They were sometimes even expected to battle left-wing students whose activism paralysed some universities, the former squad member said.
“We were basically a bunch of students who felt proud that the reputation of our university was on our shoulders,” Mr Imazu said.
That school pride occasionally led to full-on skirmishes between swaggering cheerleaders from rival universities.
Those historical behaviours have created persistent “negative perceptions” about the squads, a report by an alumni group said in 2018.
But most universities now brook no such violence, and in recent decades there has been a change many once thought impossible – women recruits.
Today, women dressed in the black uniforms – called “gakuran” – perform alongside male teammates, sometimes as group leaders.
“I didn't want to blindly accept social expectations about how women should live … and I wanted to see how far I could go in this male-centric community,” said Kazuha Nagahara, 22, of Tokai University.
Women are “breathing new life” into struggling squads, she said.
“I think it's providing a path for their survival.”
Violence might no longer be acceptable, but asceticism and stamina remain core values for the groups.
At Tokyo's Meiji University, junior cheerleaders spend so many hours bashing their hands together to perfect their clapping, they can come away with bloodied palms.
And training is supervised by glaring seniors who harangue and shout at their teammates, although their stern demeanour gives way to smiles and bows when talking to spectators and visitors.
The groups are motivated by the spirit of “annihilate yourself, serve others”, said Yasunori Sugaya, 50, a former Meiji squad member who now coaches the group.
It is an ethos passed down to current Meiji captain Motomichi Tanaka, 21, and his contemporaries.
At a recent baseball match, he stood to attention throughout a downpour that stopped play, rallying to keep spirits up among fans.
“Part of me does fantasise about having a more fun, leisurely campus life,” Tanaka said with a chuckle.
But unlike other sports, where physique and natural talent are a big factor, “anyone who wants to do their best and be cool can be us”, he said.
“Anybody can be a star … I'm proud of what I do.”
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Company%20profile
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In 2018, the ICRC received 27,756 trace requests in the Middle East alone. The global total was 45,507.
There are 139,018 global trace requests that have not been resolved yet, 55,672 of these are in the Middle East region.
More than 540,000 individuals approached the ICRC in the Middle East asking to be reunited with missing loved ones in 2018.
The total figure for the entire world was 654,000 in 2018.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
SWEET%20TOOTH
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F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
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So what is Spicy Chickenjoy?
Just as McDonald’s has the Big Mac, Jollibee has Spicy Chickenjoy – a piece of fried chicken that’s crispy and spicy on the outside and comes with a side of spaghetti, all covered in tomato sauce and topped with sausage slices and ground beef. It sounds like a recipe that a child would come up with, but perhaps that’s the point – a flavourbomb combination of cheap comfort foods. Chickenjoy is Jollibee’s best-selling product in every country in which it has a presence.
RESULT
Uruguay 3 Russia 0
Uruguay: Suárez (10'), Cheryshev (23' og), Cavani (90')
Russia: Smolnikov (Red card: 36')
Man of the match: Diego Godin (Uruguay)
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Midnights'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EArtist%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Taylor%20Swift%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ELabel%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Republic%20Records%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
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More from Neighbourhood Watch:
What is a robo-adviser?
Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.
These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.
Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.
Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.
more from Janine di Giovanni
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo hybrid
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 390bhp
Torque: 400Nm
Price: Dh340,000 ($92,579
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
