Executives of Japan's organizing committee for the 2002 World Cup (JAWOC) on Friday rejected a proposal to eliminate the names of (South) Korea and Japan from the title of next year's premier event.
Soccer's world governing body FIFA made the proposal Jan. 29 in Cannes, France, in an effort to resolve a disagreement between South Korean and Japanese organizers over the official title of the event to be used in the Japanese language.
At a meeting in November 1996, both South Korean and Japanese organizers agreed that the official title of the tournament in English would be "2002 FIFA World Cup Korea/Japan," with (South) Korea being listed first.
JAWOC officials insist, however, that both sides also agreed that the order of names in the language of their own countries would be left up to each side to decide.
Japanese officials plan to argue their case further when the FIFA officials and the World Cup organizing committees meet in Zurich, Switzerland on March 14-16.