CNN.com - 'Beckham effect' lives on in Japan

Beckham's many female admirers are fueling a boom in soccer merchandise

TOKYO, Japan -- The World Cup may be over in Japan, but it appears that the enthusiasm for the tournament and all things soccer remains strong.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, World Cup-related items and soccer stars are still big draws almost two weeks after the tournament ended.

England star David Beckham certainly is -- his autobiography has sold 330,000 copies, far more than the 50,000 the publisher expected.

What didn't come as a surprise is that women make up 75 percent of sales.

Beckham's continuing fame

Beckham and his distinctive hairstyle were almost sure to be a hit during the tournament. But the player's popularity hasn't abated, even after the World Cup.

Women's monthly Marie Claire placed the midfielder on the front cover of its latest issue and all 100,000 copies sold out on the first day. The extra 30,000 copies also flew off the shelves.

And the mayor of the small provincial Japanese town where England trained during the World Cup intends to build a statue of Beckham and two of his teammates. (Full story.)

Having scored a hit with Beckham's book, publishers PHP Institute plan another piece of soccer nonfiction with a book on South Korean coach Guus Hiddink.

Hiddink reached near-deity status among football-mad Koreans during the World Cup after guiding the national squad through to the semi-finals. He has now left to return to the Netherlands.

Movies and music also benefit

It's not just books and magazines.

Sony Music reported that 150,000 copies of the official World Cup anthem CD had been sold to date.

And Hong Kong film Shaolin Soccer has pulled in over 2 billion yen ($17 million) since its release on June 1, the day after the World Cup began.

Gaga Communications, a leading foreign film distributor, says the figures are comparable to that of a Hollywood blockbuster.

Shaolin Soccer is the highest-grossing Hong Kong movie of all time, having taken in HK$60 million ($7.7 million) at the local box office.

Baseball suffering?

However, after the tournament economists told CNN that there was no overwhelming evidence to suggest that consumer spending had increased during the tournament. (Full story.)

Given that Japanese fans didn't spend extra to buy their World Cup paraphernalia, it had to come at the expense of something else -- such as baseball.

Baseball has long been the most popular imported sport in Japan. But Friday's All-Star game has seen a lack of spectator interest, compared to last year (full story).

That this trend is partly attributed to the World Cup shows baseball may be losing its grip on the Japanese public.