The bid to host the World University Championships; visiting Belgium
An important guidepost for the 2020 Olympics
In Brussels, the capital of Belgium, I gave a presentation at the selection committee held to evaluate the bids to host the 2018 World University Championships on Tuesday, October 27th. It was organized by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). Ultimately, France and Hungary submitted bids to host the championships besides Japan (Kobe). I attended as a member of the Japanese bidding committee, alongside Kazuhiko Furukawa, chief director of the Japan University Karatedo Federation; Akihiko Kijima, permanent director of the Japan University Karatedo Federation; and Yoshiaki Nobukawa, secretary general of the Japan University Karatedo Federation.
In the presentation, I emphasized the following point as the merit of holding the World University Championships in Japan, namely that “it is extremely likely that karate will be selected for inclusion as an additional event in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, so it is very meaningful to hold the World University Championships in Japan two years before the Olympics as it is expected that many of those who participate in the World University Championships will become Olympians.” The results will be revealed in the FISU general assembly in November.
While I was in Belgium, I visited the Embassy of Japan in Belgium and was given the opportunity to meet Masafumi Ishii, the Japanese ambassador to Belgium. The ambassador was very knowledgeable about budo and gave strong words of encouragement for the inclusion of karate in the Olympics. I also met President Mr. Francois Demesmaeker of the Belgian Karate Federation. He is a person who is fond of karate more than anything else, and we had a lively conversation about karate over a meal that lasted for four hours.
I believe I had a very fruitful time in Belgium during this visit with regard to the World University Championships and the Olympics.
