JAPAN GETTING A BOOST FROM SOUTH KOREA'S ASIAN GAMES WIN?

     The selection of Pusan, South Korea, as the site for the
2002 Asian Games "is likely to work in favor of Japan's bid for
the World Cup finals in the same year," according to Japanese
sports sources cited by KYODO NEWS.  Pusan beat out Kaohsiung,
Taiwan, for the Asian Games in a vote Tuesday by the Olympic
Council of Asia.  South Korea and Japan are the finalists to host
the 2002 World Cup, the first to be held in Asia.  Japanese
sources note, "since the Asian Games are a big athletic
extravaganza, South Korea's financial burden would be staggering
if the World Cup was held in the same country in the same year."
Other sources quote anonymous FIFA officials who say the
organization "is of the view that no major world event should be
held in a country where a big continental meet is slated" (KYODO
NEWS, 5/24).