As the 2026 FIFA World Cup heats up across the United States, Canada and Mexico, large numbers of football fans in China are flocking to cinemas to watch the live broadcasts on giant screens and soak up the thrill of the football showcase.
At a cinema in Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province, football fans have been arriving in the early hours of the morning to watch live broadcasts of World Cup matches.
"The atmosphere is fantastic. I got up at 4:00 to come here," said one football fan.
As a spectacle for all ages, the tournament is drawing crowds from almost every generation, with some families making the trip to the cinema together.
"It's so lively here. I've shouted myself hoarse, and the kids were jumping around with joy," said a fan who brought his wife and daughter to the cinema.
Throughout last week's screening of the marquee match-up between reigning champions Argentina and the fairy tale underdogs from Cabo Verde, every thrilling moment sent waves of excitement through the crowd. Some fans were so overwhelmed with emotion that they broke into tears.
"Argentina took the lead twice, and twice they were leveled. I started to get a bit anxious -- but the last-minute winner sent us all over the moon," said another fan.
Mindful that fans were arriving at such an early hour for some matches, the cinema has gone the extra mile by offering a special breakfast service.
"The screenings start pretty early, so we've prepared some breakfast items -- especially Cantonese-style pastries," said Cai Shaolin, duty manager of the cinema.
What makes watching the World Cup in a cinema truly special, beyond the immersive big-screen experience, is the emotional roller-coaster journey shared by fans.
"The most thrilling moment nearly brought me to tears. There were over 300 fans in the screening room, and the joy was multiplied. Everyone cheered as one -- it felt just as electrifying as being at the stadium. I was absolutely overjoyed," said a fan.
A fan supporting Argentina also voiced her hope that the team would defend their crown. "Come on, Argentina! You've got to win it. I want to see you retain the title -- I know you can do it," she said.
This emerging trend of watching matches in cinemas is offering new opportunities to draw in crowds outside of normal hours with special offers. At this particular cinema in Guangzhou, for instance, partnerships with nearby commercial districts offer discounts for ticket holders across a broad array of goods and services.
World Cup fever hits China as fans pack cinemas for live screenings
Japan's ongoing push to revise its pacifist constitution and expand military buildup escalate regional tension, warned Japanese lawyer Kyoko Oe, who urged adherence to pacifism and vigilance against the government's dangerous moves.
Since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi took office last October, the Japanese government has renewed its push to revise the country's pacifist constitution and accelerated a series of military expansion measures, including increasing defense spending, deploying long-range missiles, and easing restrictions on arms exports.
Speaking on the dangerous policy shifts, Oe criticized the Takaichi administration for bypassing public will.
"We believe that when Japanese citizens are not demanding constitutional reform, pushing it forward through a parliamentary majority clearly violates the principle of popular sovereignty and the obligation to respect the constitution. Moreover, the content of the revision itself is extremely dangerous. [The government] is attempting to change pacifist principles of the Japanese constitution -- the most fundamental part -- and abandon basic concepts, including the renunciation of war and not maintaining military forces," said Oe.
The Japanese government has aggressively accelerated war readiness even under the current constitution, said Oe, adding that amending it will grant the Self-Defense Forces even greater freedom of action at the constitutional level.
"If the constitution is amended, the Self-Defense Forces will gain greater freedom of action at the constitutional level than they have now, and legal interpretations will develop in that direction. Even while the current constitution remains effective, the Japanese government has already forcibly advanced war preparations. For example, manufacturing long-range missiles, which were previously considered unacceptable to possess, and deploying them domestically; conducting joint war games and military exercises with the United States; and massively manufacturing and exporting weapons overseas," said Oe.
The lawyer also criticized Takaichi's provocative remarks on China, saying they have sharply strained bilateral ties and undermined peace and stability in the region.
"We believe that due to Takaichi's remarks made last November, China-Japan relations have become very tense and are deteriorating. Legal experts believe that Takaichi's remarks contain multiple obvious errors. Takaichi should frankly retract the relevant remarks and apologize. Only by building mutual trust with neighboring countries can we maintain our peace, and the peace of East Asia and even the peace of Asia. We believe that what the Takaichi administration is doing runs completely counter to what the Japanese people truly wish to achieve," Oe said.
Japan's constitution revision, military buildup fuel regional tensions: lawyer
