As Mayor, I feel great pleasure and pride that the championship match of the 2002 World Cup will be held in Yokohama.

The final match offers an excellent opportunity for our city to become better known worldwide. The event will also offer Yokohama residents an opportunity to watch the world's best soccer players competing in front of their eyes, and this will serve in an important way to increase interest and involvement in sports, which will result in a higher level of well being.

We are pulling out all the stops, preparing a warm welcome for soccer fans from around the globe, so that they will be glad they came to our city.

Ishida Takahisa, security director for World Cup events in Japan, says, "We're going to do everything we can to make sure everyone has an enjoyable time, and a safe time, during the 2002 World Cup. Our security arrangements will be different for each venue, because each stadium is unique, with its own seating capacity, location, number of entrances, etc. The teams competing at each stadium will be different, too. We will have 700 to 800 security personnel on hand for each match, with another 500 volunteers to usher spectators and provide information.

"Maintaining security will involve close coordination with local police forces and municipal governments, so visitors from abroad will be able to relax and enjoy the games. Our goal is to keep World Cup events safe, and fun, too. We don't intend to spoil the fun, so our security will be provided 'with a smile.' We'll have to do security checks, of course, and we hope everyone will understand and cooperate."