  urlLink Even the Channelnewsasia article mentions the 'jeering' or 'booing' . It will be an intimidating atmosphere for Japan when they face China at the 65,000 capacity Workers' Stadium in Beijing on Saturday. Japanese players have been heckled throughout the tournament by local crowds still incensed over Japan's World War II atrocities, and more of the same will likely be in store. The incessant booing has become so bad that Japanese ministers and politicians complained Tuesday, calling on the Chinese government to take politics out of sport. So the Asian Cup finale of China versus Japan is now set up amidst scalding hot emotions - not that I meant to suggest otherwise, but how might the government be able to 'take politics out of sports'? Or even if they could, why would they? It's not directly analogous, but remember that China is the country that engaged the US through ping pong... Where it could be a convenient tool whether for building bridges or for promoting nationalistic unity, what government would 'take politics out of sports'? By the way, I watched the Japan vs Bahrain match. I must have screamed and jumped off my chair at least a few times. Ah soccer. 
