Japan Launches Sports Agency ahead of 2020 Tokyo Olympics

TOKYO.KAZINFORM The government launched the Japan Sports Agency on Thursday to unify sports administration by breaking down divisions between government ministries and agencies, in preparation for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Established as an affiliate of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, the agency will work to foster athletes for the 2020 event and promote the health of members of the public. Daichi Suzuki, the gold medalist in men's 100-meter backstroke in the 1988 Seoul Olympics, became the first chief of the agency. On the same day, Suzuki, 48, and sports minister Hakubun Shimomura attended a ceremony to unveil the new agency's entrance plate. "I'll work hard with all of you so sports will lead to the development of the society," Suzuki said in a speech in front of the agency staff of about 110 after the ceremony. "I hope people will look back five or 10 years later and think the agency was worth creating." Source: JIJI Press