ＮＥＷＳ ＲＥＬＥＡＳＥ
17 February 2016
Sport for Tomorrow Consortium

Japan supports disaster-affected areas in Nepal
through sports and disaster prevention education

Photo courtesy of the J.LEAGUE

As part of Sport for Tomorrow, a Japanese government-initiated programme to promoteinternational cooperation through sport, the Japan Professional Football League (J.LEAGUE)
organised a programme of sporting activities in Nepal to aid efforts aimed at the recovery andreconstruction of the disaster-affected areas of Kathmandu and the surrounding areas in theaftermath of the April 2015 earthquake that devastated the city. The programme was supportedby the Japan Sport Council – secretariat of the Sport for Tomorrow Consortium – and was held
on 1–7 February 2016.
The aim of the programme was to promote awareness of the power of sport and create
opportunities for local people to enjoy physical exercise and participate in sporting activities in aneffort to motivate them to be positive about the future. The programme also included disasterprevention education to share information on disaster mitigation and management practices withpeople living in areas prone to natural disasters. More than 5,000 children enjoyed various sports
and learned about disaster prevention at these events which took place at the All Nepal Football
Association (ANFA) Chyasal ground in Kathmandu, and at several schools across Kathmandu
and surrounding areas.
The programme was organised by the J.LEAGUE with the cooperation of various organisations,such as the Nepal Baseball Club Laligurans, a Japanese professional football club F.C. Tokyoand its Volleyball team, the Japan International Cooperation System, forming an all-Japan
cooperative framework based on the platform established by the Sport for Tomorrow Consortium.
Various related Nepali organisations also provided support to the programme.
■Sport for Tomorrow Consortium
http://www.sport4tomorrow.jp/

At the sports event held on 4 and 6 February, some 900 children were divided into teams andenjoyed football, volleyball and baseball games. A total of approximately 5,000 children took
part in sports classes held at 16 schools on 1-7 February. The children also learnt theimportance of being prepared for future disasters through a disaster preparedness exercise,
which demonstrated how people should react and think when faced with a natural disaster.
The integration of sports and disaster management were key components of the programme,and were delivered from Japan’s own experience of the valuable role sport played in thereconstruction from the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan’s Tohoku region in 2011.
Disaster recovery and reconstruction efforts often take many years, and children living indisaster-affected areas are faced with a range of difficulties. Many children living indisaster-affected areas in Japan have experienced a variety of trauma and stress-related
problems, affecting them both physically and emotionally. Children in the disaster-affected areasin Nepal are confronted by similar circumstances, and it is hoped that Japan’s experience willserve as a frame of reference to Kathmandu in its own recovery and reconstruction efforts.
A local teacher who joined the event said, “Many schools in the disaster-affected areas havebeen damaged by the earthquake, and thus spaces for children to play sports safely are limited.
Thanks to today’s event we were able to see children enjoying sports again, and we were very
glad to see beautiful smiles on their faces. It was also interesting to learn new ways to enjoy
sports through programmes that included disaster management, and I am pleased to have had
this valuable opportunity to join the event.”

Photo courtesy of the J.LEAGUEFor further inquiries, please contact:
Weber Shandwick
Email：sportfortomorrow@webershandwick.com■Sport for Tomorrow Consortium
http://www.sport4tomorrow.jp/

About the Sport for Tomorrow Programme:
The Sport for Tomorrow programme is one of the Japanese government’s commitments toleveraging the power of sport and further promoting the Olympic and Paralympic movements tocreate a brighter future for people throughout the world. The programme aims to implement avariety of sporting events and activities that will engage over ten million people in over 100
countries spanning a seven-year period, culminating in 2020. This will enable Japan to achieve
its objectives of providing assistance to developing countries, training future sports leaders at
new international sports academies, and protecting both athletes and the integrity of sport bypromoting global anti-doping initiatives. In 2014, the Sport for Tomorrow programme engaged
some 520,000 worldwide people through its various activities.
About the Sport for Tomorrow Consortium:
The Sport for Tomorrow Consortium was launched in August 2014 in order to align theconcerned organisations in both the public and private sectors with a common vision. Chaired byrepresentatives of the Japan Sports Agency, the newly established government agency within
the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Ministry ofForeign Affairs (MOFA), the consortium’s Steering Committee is made up of key members of theJapanese sporting community with the remit of making the optimal use of existing resources.
The Japan Sport Council serves as the consortium’s secretariat.
###■Sport for Tomorrow Consortium
http://www.sport4tomorrow.jp/