Tokyo 2020 to Partner with the Nippon Foundation

Tokyo, 15 June 2017 – The Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo

2020) today signed a partnership agreement with the Nippon Foundation, a private non-profit

humanitarian organisation supporting activities in social welfare, public health and educational fields. The

agreement will allow Tokyo 2020 to leverage the Nippon Foundation’s experience of managing volunteers

when developing selected training programmes for the Tokyo 2020 Games.

The Nippon Foundation will provide support to Tokyo 2020 in a number of areas, including the

development of a volunteer leaders’ training programme and the training of those who will conduct

volunteer recruitment interviews. The two organisations will also collaborate in the organisation of events

and activities aimed at building momentum in the Tokyo 2020 volunteer programme.

The Nippon Foundation has many years of experience training volunteers to work in sports environments,

educational institutions and welfare programmes. Its partner organisations include the Sasakawa Sports

Foundation, the Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Center and the Japan Sports Volunteer Network.

Yoshiro Mori, Tokyo 2020 President, said: "We want to make the Tokyo 2020 Games even more

memorable than the Tokyo 1964 Games, but to achieve this, it is essential that citizens take responsibility

for the success of the Games. Volunteers will play an especially key role by taking ownership of the

Games to connect as many people as possible with each other, ultimately for the success of the Games.

Tokyo 2020 will provide high-quality training for all participants, helping them to seize this unique

opportunity and become the very best volunteers they can."

Yohei Sasakawa, the Nippon Foundation Chairman, said: "We were very pleased to receive a request

from Tokyo 2020 for this partnership. We have been working towards the goal of creating an inclusive

society in which all people can live in harmony. We would like the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic

Games to become a stepping stone to continued achievements, not a final goal. I hope our partnership

will become a catalyst for ongoing volunteering as a social movement in Japan, as well as help the Tokyo

2020 Games become the most successful ever."

Volunteers recruited to support the Tokyo 2020 Games will play an essential role in the operation of the

Games. They will need to be 18 years or older as of 1 April 2020. Applications for volunteer roles will be

accepted commencing summer 2018.

Notes to editors:

The Nippon Foundation was established in 1962 as a non-profit philanthropic organisation, active in

Japan and around the world. Initially its efforts focused largely on the maritime and shipping fields, but

since then the range of our activities has expanded to education, social welfare, public health, and other

fields—carried out in more than 100 countries to date. Together with its more than 20 partner

organisations in Japan and worldwide it is funding and assisting community-led efforts aimed at realising

a more peaceful and prosperous global society.

The Nippon Foundation website: http://www.nippon-foundation.or.jp/en/

For more information, please contact Mr. Tomoyuki Hashimoto (t_hashimoto@ps.nipponfoundation.or.jp)

Tel.:+81-80-9028-4381

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