Striker Jay Bothroyd lives calmly in Hokkaido. "Japan is lovely. sometimes I get confused though."

  • text by Yoichi Igawa
  • photo by Matsuoka Kenzaburo

"Of course it's culture, respect, safety, cleanliness. If you compare it to other countries, there is much less violence, almost no homeless people, no stray dogs. Even in England it is very dangerous in some areas, where violence such as stabbings is not rare. I think the situation is getting worse there these days. In Italy things are bit more similar to Japan, in that there is a sense of respect, close families and good foods. Plus there are four seasons like here - in England you get summer and the rest is almost all grey."

"Thailand is different, because things only seemed to be good or not; nothing in between. It is very different from Japan, where a lot of people are middle class. That's good and you can have a good quality of life here. You don't have to worry about pickpockets even when you put your wallet in your back pocket. Every time I go back to London, I appreciate having my life in Japan. One thing my wife and I do always talk about is that it would be much nicer if there were more English speakers. But overall Japan is a lovely country."

Bothroyd grew up in a rough part of London. The capital of England, London - it sounds cool and attractive for most Japanese like me, but in reality there are rougher areas too.

"My upbringing was around violence and drugs and so on," Bothroyd continues. "Many of the friends I went to school with have been in prison for drug offences, robberies and even for murder, so for me football was my sanctuary and that kept me focused on what I wanted to do in life. Of course there is great culture and history in England as well, but my family wasn't privileged so I never got to experience the nice parts of what England has to offer."

Therefore, he appreciates his current life in Japan, especially now because of his little baby.

4 / 5

厳選ピックアップ

キーワード

このページのトップに戻る