SAPPORO (Japan), June 1: Signs that World Cup matches are taking place in this northern Japanese city are everywhere.

But they are not fans, rather groups of men donning a different uniform — the navy outfit of Japanese police.

Sapporo, the capital of the island prefecture of Hokkaido some 800 kilometres north of Tokyo, is under the heaviest security ever, with over 7,000 police officers on duty assisted by 1,400 colleagues from outside the island.

Their main goal: to prevent hooligans from running amuck and wreaking havoc in the city of 1.8 million people, Japan’s fifth largest.

The domestic media have dubbed Sapporo the “most dangerous” venue due to the June 7 match between Argentina and England, whose fans have a reputation for causing trouble.

In the city’s Susukino district, the biggest entertainment area north of Tokyo, the men in navy stand out among the hostesses heading to work and the salarymen searching for the night club of their choice.

The officers in groups of five or six, some with long batons in their hands, can be seen patrolling just about every block, sometimes passing by another party of policemen.

Gone from the sidewalks are rows of parked bicycles, a regular scene in Japanese cities, and vending machines, removed by shopkeepers who fear they may become targets of vandalism by hooligans.

Near the Sapporo Dome, the venue of the three first round matches, car dealers are moving automobiles out of the glass-walled showrooms to a safe location, and many stores plan to close on match days.

Sapporo police are even warning fans that sales of beer at the stadium may be banned if they misbehave, overturning an agreement between FIFA and the Japanese organisers to allow fans to buy one paper cup of beer per person at a time.

But many locals wonder if the presence of so many police is warranted.

“I just think there are just too many of them,” said Eriko Seino, a 41-year-old housewife. “There are more of them walking around than foreigners.”

Minoru Kinoshita, 62, who had come to a “Soccer Fan Village” set up in a downtown park, blamed the hype on the media.

“You guys are just playing it up. There won’t be anything,” he said.

High school student Midori Sugawara also said she did not think the narrow streets of Susukino would turn into hooligan battlegrounds as some Japanese tabloids have warned.

“Not all foreigners are bad people,” she said.

The few fans from abroad found in Sapporo agreed.

“You must not be afraid of foreigners. Look at us, we are normal,” said a couple who had come from Munich.

An English fan protested the stereotype of England supporters as being hooligans.

“Everyone focuses on England, but that is unfair,” David Agates, a 41-year-old engineer, said.

Sapporo will also host Italy against Ecuador on June 3.—Reuters