As part of this year's Audi Summer Tour, German record champions FC Bayern received the great honour of an invitation to a reception with the Governor of Tokyo Prefecture. President Herbert Hainer and vice-president Professor Dr Dieter Mayer presented Yuriko Koike with a jersey during the visit, and the hostess wished the club a successful stay in Japan. "Football is very popular here, especially among young people," she said, praising the German record champions’ commitment to promoting talent. She said she had heard that FC Bayern had become German champions a record eleven times in a row. "FC Bayern must be invincible," she commented.
On behalf of FC Bayern, Hainer thanked the governor for the invitation in Japanese and expressed the hope that he would be able to take something of the country's philosophy home with him: "I think the world as a whole can learn a lot from Japan. From a culture that always aims for perfection, harmony and balance, not only in its sport. Thank you very much for this meeting, which goes beyond sport," said the club president, "thank you that we can learn from each other and above all from you."
After the official part of the reception, which was attended by Keiju Otsuka and Kenichiro Ohara, the chairpersons of the "Mia san Japan" fan club, Yuriko Koike took extra time to thank Hainer for being so familiar with Japanese culture. As he had correctly recognised in his speech, sport in this country always encompasses mind and body, she said. "It's always about wholeness in Japan," Hainer commented, "it's a special and highly interesting culture."
Here's what happened in Tokyo on Tuesday:
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