Japan’s World Cup winners get cash reward

TOKYO, (Reuters) – Accolades continue to shower on  Japan’s women’s soccer team after their World Cup triumph with a  sponsor paying a bonus of one million yen ($12,680) to each  player for their surprise success.

Brewer and soft drinks maker Kirin, an official sponsor of  the Japan Football Association, rewarded the players after they  beat the heavily favoured United States on penalties in Germany last Friday.

“The buzz of excitement has been continuing since the final  and we decided on the bonus straight away,” the company’s  president Koichi Matsuzawa was quoted as saying by the Kyodo  news agency.

Japan, the first Asian winners of the title, received a  rock star treatment on Tuesday on their return from Germany when  hundreds of fans and reporters received them at the airport.

($1 = 78.865 Japanese Yen).