Tokyo (AFP)

Sign of the craze that has seized Japan, the official jerseys of "Brave Blossoms" are tearing, exceeding the forecasts of the manufacturer and retailers: just two weeks after the start of the World Cup, 90% of stocks have already been sold in the organizing country.

In the main derivative store of the Mondial in Tokyo, the same scene is repeated every morning: the first customers throw themselves on the few available jerseys, especially those of the "Brave Blossoms", which flood their stadiums red and white stripes of the tournament.

"Everyone loves Japanese jerseys, much more than we anticipated," says Danny Robinson, the manager of the store run by Legends International, interviewed by AFP.

Since the Brave Blossoms have been victorious in the competition - including a resounding success against Ireland - "it's not just the Japanese buying the jerseys" from the national team: "About 50% of their Buyers are foreigners, "said Robinson.

And for those visitors who often cut larger and wider than the average Japanese, there is an additional difficulty: the Japanese jerseys XL or XXL are even rarer than the others.

"As I wear XL, there was only one (Japanese jersey, Ed) available this morning for me," says AFP Jesai Knight, a 38-year-old Australian supporter, delighted to have unearthed this local memory after a first unsuccessful attempt the day before.

- "Difficult to predict" -

Stockpiling was also disrupted due to a giant blackout in September after Typhoon Faxai in Chiba Prefecture, near Tokyo, where the competition's derivatives warehouse is located.

"In the beginning you had to look for the products on the spot with flashlights," says Robinson, assuring however that this problem is now solved.

Canterbury, the New Zealand-based brand that dresses the Brave Blossoms, has planned to sell 200,000 of their jerseys in Japan over the entire competition, says AFP Yoshi Katsuta, head of operations for the World Cup. rugby world at Canterbury Japan.

"About 90% has already been sold" across all distribution channels, while the tournament lasts until November 2nd, says Katsuta. "It exceeded our expectations," he added, assuring his company was doing its best to increase inventories.

"It's unfortunate" that these jerseys are already hard to find. "We're really sorry for the customers," but such a request was "really hard to predict," says Katsuta.

"We expected foreign visitors to buy Japanese jerseys too, but not that much either."

- Spirit "No Side" -

Another particularity of this World Cup: the Japanese also buy a lot of jerseys of foreign teams.

"I'm not sure we've seen a World Cup before, where the local fans were supporting the other teams as well," Alan Gilpin, the manager of the Rugby World Cup in Japan, recently said.

The jerseys of the All Blacks are particularly popular with the Japanese public. Not only because they are among the tournament favorites, but also because the Japanese "love the haka," laughs Mr. Robinson.

According to him, the Japanese also appreciate the jerseys of Wales, England and even Scotland, which will be the opponent of the Brave Blossoms Sunday, with a stake in the quarterfinals.

Wearing foreign jerseys, "I think that rugby fans in Japan are showing the spirit + No Side +," said Masashi Miho, 33, a Japanese customer of the official World Cup, confident thinking himself to buy a jersey ... All Blacks.

© 2019 AFP