Staff writer
Top officials of the Japan World Cup Organizing Committee (JAWOC) expressed strong displeasure Friday with a FIFA directive on the use of Japanese language in reference to the official title of the 2002 World Cup.
JAWOC general secretary Yasuhiko Endo received a letter from FIFA marketing manager Flavio Battaini earlier this week in which FIFA demanded the Japanese organizing committee use katakana instead of kanji to describe the name of the tournament -- "2002 World Cup Korea/Japan" -- in Japanese.