NEWS

Lecture given by Mr. Koji Tokumasu, an ICU graduate who serves as a Senior Director of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee

Update: May 06, 2015

On April 19 (Tue.), Mr. Koji Tokumasu, a 1974 ICU graduate who serves as a Senior Director of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee, gave a lecture titled "Rugby World Cup 2019™ Is Coming to Japan: Large-scale Sports Festivals and International Exchange."

Mr. Tokumasu talked about why he, with no previous experience of rugby, joined the ICU Rugby Football Club with only three members; why he decided to learn coaching at Cardiff College of Education in Wales after working as a newspaper reporter; how he become involved in high school rugby coaching in Japan; how the team he coached won the national championships; and how he has become a Senior Director of the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organising Committee and his election as President of Asia Rugby last December, incorporating background information and anecdotes.

Then he presented the overview of the Rugby World Cup™, one of the world's three largest sports events. Rugby World Cup 2019 will be held at 12 venues in Japan over more than six weeks from September 20 to November 2. He said the event will need about 6,000 volunteers. He also showed what kind of international exchange events had been held to welcome fans from overseas in previous Rugby World Cup years, adding that he intends to highlight Japan's world-class traditional culture rather than emulate the past.

In the Q&A session at the end of the lecture, Mr. Tokumasu politely responded to each question from students. Based on his own experience, he finally sent an encouraging message to the students: "Take the opportunities. When you find something you want to devote yourself to, just go for it--even with determination to take some risks."