Japan recommends football fans not to visit North Korea

Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued a warning to its citizens about attending a soccer match scheduled for March 26 in North Korea. In light of the qualifying matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the Japanese authorities recommend avoiding travel to Pyongyang.

North Korea is considered a "hostile" country, and the presence of Japanese citizens at such events can be dangerous. It is noted that this is the first qualifying match since 2011, InsideTheGames writes.

According to media reports, Japan and North Korea will play a qualifying match for the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Before that, next week, a return match will be held on the territory of North Korea, which is hostile to Japan.

Japanese authorities have long advised their citizens to refrain from traveling to North Korea, although there is no official ban on it. Relations between the two countries have remained at a low level for some time with no diplomatic ties. It is unclear how many fans may decide to travel, but they need a North Korean visa to do so.

According to Japanese TV channel NHK, the Japanese team will be accompanied by 14 government officials and a small number of media representatives.

The conflict between Japan and North Korea

Relations between the two countries have long been tense over various issues, such as compensation for the period of occupation of the Korean Peninsula by Japan from 1910 to 1945, as well as the launch of missiles from Pyongyang over Japanese territory.

In addition, the controversy over the abduction of Japanese citizens by North Korean agents in the 1970s and 1980s, who were forced to teach spies Japanese language and customs, has long been ongoing.

It is expected that the first game to be held in Japan will attract a significant number of North Korean fans from the Korean community in Japan, which is estimated to be around 300,000 people.

It is worth noting that the previous month, the first playoff game of the Women's Olympic Games in Paris was moved from North Korea to a neutral site in Saudi Arabia.

As a reminder, France continues to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games to be held in the summer. TravelWise wrote about the excitement among hotels.