Sport and Diplomacy: Past Reflections and Looking Towards 2020

Japan is due to host two sporting ‘mega-events’ in the next few years: The Rugby World Cup 2019 and The Summer Olympics, Tokyo 2020.

The build up to these events provides an opportunity to reflect on the past, present and future role of sport as an opportunity for diplomacy. This symposium, organised by the Japan Foundation London in collaboration with the Japan Sport Council London and SOAS Japan Research Centre, focuses on mega-sporting events as a public diplomatic platform, and how they create legacies for the global community.

Sport Diplomacy is a relatively new and flourishing field in academia building upon the heritage of studies in sport and history, politics and sociology. With the 2019 and 2020 events on the horizon, this event will examine the role of sports throughout history in Japan since the hosting of the Olympics in 1964 in Tokyo.

We are pleased to welcome Mr Tetsuya Kimura, the Director General of Japan Sports Agency, the extra-ministerial bureau of Japanese sports, as a key speaker to talk about the nation’s government led initiative ‘Sport for Tomorrow‘. Sport for Tomorrow is an international project to implement changes on a national and international scale in time for and beyond 2020, which consists of three pillars: international cooperation through sports, academy for future sports leaders, and promotion of sport integrity through global anti-doping activities.

[Sport for Tomorrow]

HP / Facebook / Instagram / Twitter

The symposium looks at sports’ versatility as a diplomatic communication medium, and how Japan approaches the unique opportunity of hosting mega-sporting events to leverage the power of sport in this time of globalization.