Adidas and the Japan Football Association (JFA) today unveiled the new home and away kits for the Japanese national team, which will be worn by Japanese players during the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Adidas sees the jersey as a canvas for creativity, hoping to capture and deliver the cultural story of each country by incorporating elements that are representative of the local culture.
After the 2002 World Cup final, some 2.7 million cranes took to the skies in Japan to celebrate the birth of a new king. With the new World Cup just around the corner, Adidas has designed a new shirt based on the concept of origami, which is inspired by the cranes taking to the sky and expressing them as a symbol of joy and well-being.
The history of the Japanese national team has always been one of "peaks and valleys". In Qatar, the host country of this year's World Cup, the Japanese team is bittersweet, having experienced the "Doha tragedy" of coming so close to the World Cup, but it is also where they rose to the top of Asia in 2011. The road ahead is bumpy, always forward, combined with the Japanese national team's continuous challenge to the world's footprint, and the origami formed by the continuous "mountain" (convex) and "valley" (concave), the jersey conveys the message of "let joy infect Japan", a message that contains the desire for victory and joy.
The New Jersey was also released in conjunction with the football comics GIANT KILLING and BLUE LOCK and the football game eFootball™ to spread the joy of football to more people through Japan's world-renowned culture such as comics and video games. In the run-up to the World Cup, Japan is creating an atmosphere of joy.
The new home jersey features "Japanese blue" as the main base, incorporating an origami design. Unlike previous versions, the Japanese flag on the New Jersey has been moved from above the chest badge to behind the collar, symbolizing carrying the nation's glory and the team moving forward with the support of the nation.
The New Jersey, which also has a red lining inside the collar, is inspired by Japan's 2011 Asian Cup triumph in Qatar, and the hope is that the team will repeat that joyous occasion in Qatar later this year. The jersey number will be yellow, which the Japanese team has used in the past, allowing for greater visibility on television and mobile screens.
The new away kit features black and white as the main base, and uses the same origami design as the home kit, with overlapping blue and red patterns to create a fresh three-dimensional look.
The new season away kit has adopted an unprecedented color scheme, with black as the color of shorts for the first time, aiming to adopt novel design and color combinations to differentiate from the once stereotypical impression.
The jerseys are made from recycled polyester and are designed to highlight Adidas' ongoing commitment to helping end plastic waste. The player version is comfortable and breathable, with 50% Parley Ocean Plastic. The Marine eco-friendly material is sourced from remote islands, beaches, coastal areas and coastlines in an effort to reduce Marine pollution. Each jersey is made of innovative Adidas fabrics, including light thermal transfer design and HEAT.RDY thermal technology to help players stay cool and comfortable.
"We are very proud to wear the blue jersey of the national team and it is exciting every time a New Jersey is announced," said Minamino. The design has made me more motivated to wear it and I look forward to our best performances in the World Cup."
"I think the idea of origami is very new and very cool," Kubo said. It would be great if it could be loved by all the supporters. In this shirt, I will give everything I have to go to the World Cup."
"The simplicity of the design was full of ideas, which surprised me," Iwatouchi said. I'm looking forward to playing in this shirt, which has a typical Japanese style."
