A new style of Baseball stadium where people withand without disabilities can play together“Universal Baseball” to be held for the first timein New YorkSunday, April 21, 2024
at West Harrison Senior Center、West Harrison New York
January 15, 2024

Horie Sharyo Denso Corporation (headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) has decided to hold a baseball game,"Universal Baseball," at West Harrison Senior Center, West Harrison, New York, USA, on Sunday, April 21,
2024, where people with and without disabilities can compete equally.
This will be the first time the event will be held overseas. Universal Baseball was originally developed in2019 by Horie Sharyo Denso Co. We propose the use of universal baseball fields as one of the educational
programs at educational institutions and various facilities, and continue to hold the event throughout Japanas a school class where students learn the joy of being cheered on by others and the importance ofsupporting others.
Video to Introduce its examples of recent events
Video Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSo-a196ugk
This year's event will be held for the Apple Time Special Needs Children and Families, which began in 2020
when Universal Baseball was shared as "bright news" on the Apple Time Facebook page and the Horie
Sharyo sent a message of appreciation. After the Covid-19 pandemic, the exchange deepened and led to thehosting of Uiversal Baseball in New York in 2024.
Horie Sharyo is pleased that Universal Baseball will become known to people around the world beyond
national borders, and hopes that it will be used around the world as an educational program where people
can learn the joy of being supported by others and the importance of supporting others.

Event overview :Date: April 21, 2024 (Sunday)
Start Time: 13:00 onwards (scheduled)
Venue: West Harrison Senior Center, WestHarrison, New York251 Underhill Ave West Harrison NY 10604
Organizer: Horie Sharyo Densou Co., Ltd.
Co-organizer: Apple Time Family Inc. （NPO）
Participants: Children with special needs andtheir families associated with Apple Time.
It is designed to be enjoyed together by people with andwithout disabilities.

● How Universal Baseball Works
The size of the ballpark is about one-twentieth(120 m) of a typical baseball field, and forexample, a wheelchair user can stand in thebatter's box. It consists of unique ideas andtechnologies, such as a ball table using a rotatingtable that makes one turn in approximately 2seconds, a ball approximately 10 cm in diameter,
and a batting method that allows anyone to swing
without difficulty.
It is a new baseball game developed independently.

● Universal Baseball Story(excerpted from the official https://universalbaseball.world/)
In 2017, an encounter with a baseball-loving boy who attends a special needs elementary school triggered
the idea of creating Universal Baseball.
The Sports Promotion Section of the Disability Support Division of Horie Sharyo Denso Co., Ltd. provides
opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise their bodies through various sports, such as wheelchairtennis experience classes.
The idea was to create a baseball game that anyone could participate in and play together.
After much trial and error, we developed a prototype of a baseball bat that can be swung if the player canmove 1 cm. After repeated improvements, we decided not to throw the ball, but to use a turntable placed at
the home base to spin the ball and hit it.
We received video letters from children who participated in the development saying, "I want to playbaseball! I love baseball,We began building a one-twentieth baseball field to give them a little taste of actual baseball.
In 2019, we built a prototype baseball board and held games with children from special needs schools. Aubiquitous voice calls out the names of the players and they enter the batter's box. From the stands,"Katbase!" with a cheering song.
The children were cheering! The smiles on their faces as they experienced baseball for the first time in theirlives left a lasting impression on the participants.
Since then, it has hosted tournaments and survived the COVID-19 disaster, and this universal baseballstadium is now being used as one of the educational programs at educational institutions and various otherfacilities. In Japan, universal baseball has been introduced at regular schools, special-needs schools, schools
for the disabled, and special-needs schools nationwide in various subjects such as exchange, morality,
physical education, and regular subjects with the theme of the program is to learn "the joy of being cheered"and "the importance of cheering".
Video to Introduce its examples of recent events
Video Link:
https://universalbaseball.world/media/2602/
https://universalbaseball.world/media/2306/

● Horie Sharyo Background of the Start of Support Business for People with Disabilities
Horie Sharyo was established in 1968 to perform maintenance, modification, and inspection of railcars forprivate railway companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The mainstay of the railcar maintenance businessis the maintenance of railcars to ensure that customers can use railcars with peace of mind. The main focusof the rolling stock maintenance business is to maintain rolling stock to provide customers with a safe andcomfortable ride, while the main focus of the modification business is to renew rolling stock by constantly
incorporating new technologies.
We are committed to making a broad and deep contribution to society through flexible ideas and actions,and our core business is rolling stock maintenance. At the same time, we advocate the flexible response to
the changes of the times and the pursuit of the ideal way of doing business to become a truly needed
company with the ability to take action. One of our efforts is to solve issues related to the employment ofpeople with disabilities.
In 2013, we had an encounter with a soccer player with intellectual disabilities. Even though they wereskilled enough to be selected for the national team, they were limited in where they could work. There wereworkplaces where they could make the most of their strengths, but there was no connection between themand those workplaces. The first step we took was to spread the word about these players who wanted towork but had no place to do so. We began supporting the Japan Soccer Federation for the Intellectually
Challenged with the creation of a website and public relations activities. We also launched a project toprovide support for people with disabilities in order to specifically address the issue of employment.
Currently, comprehensive support for persons with disabilities (employment, daily life, and leisure time) is
being developed under the name of "Triangle" as a business that connects persons with disabilities whostrongly desire to live in society, supporters who provide support for persons with disabilities, andcompanies that actively seek to employ persons with disabilities.
For more information, please visit Triangle's website http://h-tryangle.jp/Sports are a great way to learn rules and cooperation through participation. It can create an environment
where all participants, including people with disabilities, can experience and grow together in a place. Horie
Sharyo’ s main approaches to sports are as follows.
・Management of FC Tryangle Tokyo, the only adult futsal team in which able-bodied people and people withdisabilities play together.
・Planning and operation of sports classes: Inviting Paralympic athletes in various sports and holding
wheelchair tennis classes, etc., as needed, with a focus on professional coaching.
Universal Baseball, which started as one of the initiatives of the Disability Support Division, is now being
developed as the Future Creation Division.
Contact
Hidemi Taguma (Public Relations Office: Argoverse Corporation)
Phone: +81-3-5533-8808 Mail：horiesharyo@argo-ms.com
About Horie Sharyo Denso Co., Ltd.
Horie Sharyo Denso Co., Ltd. was established in 1968 to perform maintenance, modification, andinspection of railcars for private railway companies in the Tokyo metropolitan area.The mainstay of therailcar maintenance business is the maintenance of railcars to ensure that customers can use railcars withpeace of mind. The main focus of the rolling stock maintenance business is to maintain rolling stock toprovide customers with a safe and comfortable ride, while the main focus of the modification business is torenew rolling stock by constantly incorporating new technologies.
For more information, please visit: http://horie-sharyo.co.jp/