MEDIA RELEASE PR36507
Japan Bid Committee Kicks Off Activities for 2018/2022 World Cup
TOKYO, Oct. 9 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/--
The Japan 2018/2022 Bid Committee, seeking to host the FIFA World Cup in 2018/2022, kicked off their activities
on Oct. 8, announcing their bid intentions in a press conference at the JFA House in Tokyo.
"Japan would like to surprise the world by hosting and developing a World Cup to a new dimension," says Motoaki
Inukai, chairman of the committee. Inukai explained Japan's intentions of this candidacy and the committee
announced the outline of their bidding activities.
Based on the success of the World Cup co-hosted with South Korea in 2002, Japan plans to propose a World Cup
where they combine "a sense of humanities" unique to the Japanese people and the world-class "technical
prowess" especially in the field of communications to develop dialogue and mutual understanding at a world level.
The committee welcomes world-leading Japanese scholars and engineers as members to draft and carry out the
plan.
The committee announced their concept "Truly Universal" that unveils its true value of the World Cup as the world's
largest communication device, shares the joy of sports and contributes to world peace through the power of
football. Kohzo Tashima, General Secretary of the Japan Football Association, explained the concept as follows:
"The World Cup we propose goes beyond the national border as a host country. We would like to share the
excitement of the World Cup with everybody. In other words, we will co-host the event with all the other nations of
the world!"
Although Tokyo's bid for the 2016 Olympics was unsuccessful, the committee reiterated that "the outcome of the
Olympics bid has no influence on the bidding activities for the World Cup. It was imperative for Japan to stand up
for this candidacy since our goal is to create a truly prosperous nation through the development of sports culture
and to contribute to the international community by hosting the World Cup." The committee has received
expressions of interest from municipalities throughout Japan, laying the firm foundation of domestic support and
plans to proactively approach the new government to support their bidding activities.
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SOURCE: Japan 2018/2022 Bid Committee
Contact:
Suminori Gokoh
Japan 2018/2022 Bid Committee
Tel: +81-3-3830-2004
Fax: +81-3-3830-2005
E-mail: fwc.japan.2018.2022@jfa.or.jp
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