JAKARTA - Talking about Japan cannot be separated from its technological sophistication that makes other countries in the world ashamed and feels left behind. This time, in the world of football, the Land of the Rising Sun made a new breakthrough.
The Japanese soccer league will roll back in the midst of the yet-defeated COVID-19, where the match will be held in a stadium without spectators. But the latest smartphone application will turn the stadium's silence into an emotional match.
The Cheerer Remote System developed by the Japanese company Yamaha allows fans to follow matches on TV, radio or online to cheer up - or berate - players via their smartphone. Their voices echo around the stadium in real time via loudspeakers.
In a recent field test, users in multiple remote locations chose from a variety of on-screen options that sent cheers, applause, chants and chatter to the 50,000-seat Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa via 58 loudspeakers installed between empty seats. .
Launching The Guardian, Wednesday, May 27, this app also allows fans to question the referee's eyesight, or the eating habits of players who have struggled to stay in shape during the league being suspended due to the pagebluk.
"Users can feel a presence at the venue, even though it is a large stadium," Yamaha said in a statement, adding that the system "demonstrates the ability to create a spectator atmosphere akin to a real match."
Yamaha says it will enhance the app, developed with the help of J-League clubs Jubilo Iwata and Shimizu S-Pulse, so that it can be adapted for use in a variety of sports and other events held without spectators or with limited audiences.
"The fans are an important element of the match atmosphere," said Jumpei Takaki of the sales division at S-Pulse. "As a former professional footballer, I know how encouraging they are to support the players on the pitch."
Japan is playing it safe turning to technology to produce a true match atmosphere. When South Korea's professional football league opened earlier this month, organizers attempted to create an atmosphere akin to channeling music into an empty stadium. But a week later, FC Seoul's attempt to add a touch of realism by filling some of its stadium seats backfired after viewers pointed out that the 'fake audience' was actually a sex doll. The club later apologized.
Professional sports in Japan are set to return to activity in the coming weeks. The prime minister, Shinzo Abe, lifted a nationwide state of emergency on Monday following a significant drop in the number of new infections.
The J-League is expected to resume matches in late June or early July pending approval from 58 teams.
Japan's top league competition briefly kicked off on February 21, with the second division following two days later, before all matches were postponed due to the aftermath of COVID-19. Clubs in the third tier of the league are supposed to start playing on March 7.
With a smartphone application like this, Japan has defeated Spain and Germany in terms of technology. La Liga is still considering making fake crowd noises in stadiums when matches are played behind closed doors, while the Bundesliga has been infusing the atmosphere of crowd sound on live television since the league restarted two weeks ago.
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