In Japan, athletes have as much influence as A-list celebrities. Japanese soccer star Nakata is masculine, cutting-edge fashionable and really, really sexy in those silky shorts (did I just type that out loud?). Whenever he carries around a Louis Vuitton bag, that style instantly sells out, nationwide. Baseball sensation Ichiro is known for sporting high-performance sunglasses, and that style has become a hit amongst Japanese men. When Japan won its first Gold medal in Women’s Figure Skating, the athlete, Shizuka Arakawa, was on every network station and became a cultural obsession. Her magical performance was broadcast perhaps a hundred times as she performed to the breathtaking music of “Turandot”. To quench the nation’s endless fascination with Arakawa, in addition to numerous TV specials on Arakawa herself, there were TV programs on the history of Turandot, regular people who share the name “Shizuka Arakawa”, and restaurants named “Turandot”.

More recently, in the Athens and Beijing Olympics, Japanese Gold medal swimmer Kosuke Kitajima absolutely dominated the Men’s Breaststroke event. During the relay event, he pulled Japan to first place because of his overwhelming strength in his event. Alas, they couldn’t hold onto the lead, but it was awe-inspiring to see him enter the water a few competitors behind and blow everyone out of the water by the end.

Being that Olympic men’s swimmers (thank you, God!) don’t wear clothes, their goggles are about the only accessory that can become mainstream popular. The high-tech eyewear company Yamamoto Kogaku Co., Ltd. produces lenses that can control light, and their line includes sunglasses, swimming, skiing and snowboarding goggles, dustproof and industrial safety goggles. They have goggles specifically designed for children (SJ-B5) which are easy and painless to put on, as well as high-performance goggles for sports (Swans & IDENT lines) that is popular amongst world-class athletes. As millions of Japanese men take to the water to emulate their Olympic star Kitajima, they’re sure to whip on a pair of Yamamoto goggles…and hopefully, not a pair of tiny Speedos.