LIFE & CULTURE

A TWENTY-YEAR
KIZUNA:FORTIFYING JAPAN AND
CROATIA’S FRIENDSHIPCROATIA

Niigata(JAPAN)

The city of Tokamachi, Niigata Prefecture has cultivated a close relationship with Croatia through enthusiastic
exchange since the 2002 FIFA World Cup. Sven Bjelan, a Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) on Japan’scultural exchange program, JET, is actively striving to further deepen that friendship at the Olympic and Paralympic
Games Tokyo 2020.
The seeds of the friendshipwere first sown during the FIFA
World Cup cohosted in 2002
by Japan and South Korea. For
their pre-tournament camp, theCroatian national team visited
Tokamachi, a regional city in
Niigata Prefecture. The local
government and residents gave theteam an enthusiastic and heartfelt
welcome during their two-week
stay, in which team members
happily participated in a soccer
workshop for children and othersupporting events. On the day of

the team’s departure, thousandsof citizens lined the streets to bid
farewell to the players, as they
were reluctant to see the beloved
athletes leave. Team captain
Davor Šuker said, “No other town
has ever made such an effort totruly get to know Croatia. It wasa wonderful camp.”
Since then, Tokamachi has
actively engaged in exchanges
to cultivate its 20-year close
relationship with Croatia. Sven
Bjelan, a Croatia-born CIR in theJET Programme, said, “Anyone

SVEN BJELAN
Born in the Croatian capital of Zagreb,
Bjelan developed an interest in Japan after
joining a calligraphy seminar when he was
21. He studied Japanology at theUniversity of Zagreb and came to Japan tostudy on two separate occasions, in Tokyoand Osaka. When searching for work inJapan after his return to Croatia in 2016,he learned that the JET Programme wasrecruiting Croatians for a CIR position inTokamachi, Niigata Prefecture. His
bridge-building activities began in 2017.

visiting from Croatia is surprised
at how welcoming Tokamachi
is to them.” Even beyond 2002,
large crowds of Tokamachi
locals have continued to join live
public screenings of Croatia’s
big matches in the FIFA World
Cup. The field where the 2002
camp was held has subsequently
become fondly known as Croatia
Pitch. Now it hosts the Croatia
Cup Soccer Festival, a local soccer
competition, as well as a camp for
the U-17 Croatian team during
their regular visits to Japan for

Top: Bjelan served as an interpreter at a 2017
meeting between SUZUKI Daichi, a gold medalistat the Seoul Olympic Games and the then head of
the Japan Sports Agency, and the then State Secretaryof the Central State Office for Sports, Janica Kostelić.
Bottom: Bjelan also teaches at a cooking class for
Tokamachi residents.

the International Youth Soccer
in Niigata tournaments. The
city’s Croatia-related projects
extend beyond sports, including
Croatian cooking classes and film
screenings, among others.
With Tokamachi serving as ahost town for the Olympic andParalympic Games Tokyo 2020,
Bjelan hopes to further fortify
the ties that the city has createdwith Croatia, and has beenquite busy with preparations
to make that happen. When he
first started working as a CIR,
his knowledge of the city andexperience regarding exchanges
with Croatia were limited;nevertheless, he took on his newrole with vigor. Now his various

ABOUT THE JAPANEXCHANGE AND TEACHING(JET) PROGRAMME
Croatia Pitch (background),where a pre-tournament camp
was held before the 2002 FIFAWorld Cup, is a symbol of theinternational exchanges that
Bjelan works on.

duties cover everything fromproject proposals to exchanges
with and interpretation for
Croatian visitors. The work hasoften been hard, however, onesight that has remained in his
mind is that of local childreninteracting with top athletes fromhis country in 2019, during test
events for a pre-Olympics camp
for judo, karate, and taekwondo.
Bjelan said, “Although it is not
yet certain whether they will beable to interact directly during
the Olympics, I hope that thechildren will be inspired by theCroatian athletes and that theygain an interest in their sports.”
Tokamachi is a city surroundedby beautiful nature. The snowfall
is heavy in winter, while thesummer is pleasantly cool anddry. Those are some of the many
similarities to Croatia, especiallyregarding the country’s inland
areas. Bjelan said, “A rich foodculture of such staples as soba
noodles and sake has taken root

At a pre-Olympics test event held in 2019 to prepare for Tokyo
2020, Tokamachi children interacted directly with Croatian
Olympians competing in judo, karate, and taekwondo.

in the region, and the lifestyle ismore relaxed than in urban areas.
Through these qualities one canfeel the real charm of Tokamachi.”
Even though his tenure as a CIR
will end someday, Bjelan is willingto provide support for exchange
projects whenever needed. Oneof his future goals is to invite
Tokamachi children to events inCroatia such as sports camps, andto create opportunities for handson interaction with his country’s
people and culture. He would also
like to help Japanese companies
to start business in Croatia. Evenafter the Olympics, his bridgebuilding activities are sure toexpand further.

Left: Kiyotsu Gorge, one of “the three great gorges of Japan” and home to a tunnel that allows visitors a close-up view ofthe precipitous, majestic cliffs, attracts many tourists. Right: Some of the major draws to Tokamachi include its richtraditional culinary culture, such as hegisoba, a buckwheat noodle dish served on a wooden square plate called a hegi.

The JET Programme began in 1987 with the goal of promoting grassroots
international exchange between Japan and other nations, and is now one of the world’s
largest international exchange programs. In 2019, the JET Programme welcomed
5,761 participants, and there are currently more than 70,000 alumni from 75
countries living in all parts of the world.

The JET Programme official website >> http://jetprogramme.org/en/