Rugby fever for visitor hosts

Nobuyasu and Ayako Arimune are so obsessed with rugby they named their dog “Richie” after former All Blacks skipper Richie McCaw – and unsurprisingly, they cannot wait until the World Cup comes to their sleepy hometown of Fukuroi later this year.

The couple, in their 40s, are among an army of families opening up their homes to foreign visitors as part of the city’s homestay programme – aimed at helping bridge the gulf between available accommodation and the number of foreign fans expected.

Fukuroi has a population of just 86,000 but will host four matches, including Ireland’s clash with Japan, at the 50,000 capacity Shizuoka Ecopa Stadium, named for the prefecture rather than the nearby city.

While the Arimunes are just hoping for the chance to talk rugby with fellow fans from around the world, city officials are looking to the expanded homestay programme to give residents a more open outlook towards foreigners.

Immigration has long been discouraged in Japan, where many prize ethnic homogeneity, but a shrinking, ageing population has led to more relaxed regulations and an increase in foreign residents numbers.

Fukuroi is no exception, with the number of immigrants fast increasing and over the next decade likely to far exceed the current 4,000 there.

“We think the homestay programmes will remain as a legacy even after Rugby World Cup ends,” the city’s International Exchange Office manager Hiromasa Suzuki said.

“The issue of an ageing population with a decreasing birth rate awaits us in the future, and the numbers of foreigners will continue to increase.

“Looking ahead to our future, we thought the homestay programmes would be a great opportunity to interact with foreign people.”

More than 100 households have signed up to the programme and that is expected to increase before the tournament starts on September 20.

“The Rugby World Cup will give local people a worldwide view,” Suzuki said.

“It will become a chance for Japanese residents and foreign residents to co-operate and build a better community.”

Nobuyasu, who has been to New Zealand three times to follow the All Blacks, has an advantage when it comes to communicating with foreigners as he speaks English.

“We have been watching the past Rugby World Cup through satellite television, but I think this time it is different,” he said.

“The fact that the Rugby World Cup is coming to our town feels very special, and I am excited.

“We don’t usually have much opportunity to talk in depth with foreign people.”

Kimiyo and Mitsue Naito, an elderly couple who live with their daughter and granddaughter, have been homestay hosts for years and welcomed visitors from all over the world to their home.

For them, the Rugby World Cup represents the perfect opportunity to share their way of life with their guests.

“We would like the guests to know about Japanese culture,” Kimiyo, 72, who played rugby when younger, said.

Immigration has long been discouraged in Japan, where many prize ethnic homogeneity, but a shrinking, ageing population has led to more relaxed regulations and an increase in foreign residents numbers