［February 2019］
The World Masters Games 2021 Kansai

The World Masters Games (WMG) is an international multi-sport competition held every four years for all amateur athletes aged 30 or over. In May 2021, the WMG 2021 Kansai will be held in Japan’s Kansai region. As the 10th edition of the Games, the WMG 2021 Kansai will be the first time ever the Games is held in Asia, making the Kansai Games a commemorative milestone for the WMG.

The Kansai region is located in the center of the Japanese archipelago. Being the heartland of Japan for over a millennium, the area has an abundance of historical and cultural sites. As of August 2018, the Organizing Committee of the WMG 2021 Kansai has confirmed that 59 events in 35 sports will take place at the games. Please click on the following link to find information on the WMG 2021 Kansai, and updates on the sports and events: (https://www.wmg2021.jp/en/).

Large-scale international sporting events will be held over three consecutive years in Japan:

–               Rugby World Cup 2019;

–               Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games; and

–               WMG 2021 Kansai.

The Japanese people are proud to be hosting these special events and are looking forward to welcoming athletes and visitors from all over the world.

Different to the Rugby World Cup and the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in which only a limited number of athletes can participate, the WMG is the special sporting event where anyone aged 30 or over can participate in and enjoy the sports while interacting with other participants and locals of the host cities.

A total of 170,000 amateur athletes have participated in the past nine editions of the WMG so far. The Organizing Committee of the WMG 2021 Kansai expects 50,000 amateur athletes, including 20,000 from overseas, to participate in the competitions. These numbers are the largest in the history of the WMG. The committee hopes that many amateur athletes from Australia and New Zealand will participate in the games, as the WMG is a popular international sporting event in both countries and the two countries have hosted the WMG four times in the past:

–               3rd edition in Brisbane in 1994;

–               5th edition in Melbourne in 2002;

–               7th edition in Sydney in 2009; and

–               9th edition in Auckland in 2017.

The Japanese people welcome all Australians and New Zealanders to participate in the WMG 2021 Kansai, and hope they will enjoy the interactions with other participants and the people of Japan.

I believe that the strong emotions shared among the athletes and locals through sporting activities can easily transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. The people interactions through the WMG 2021 Kansai may have positive impacts on your sister city or friendship city relationships with your Japanese partners.

If your city has connections with any city in the Kansai region, the WMG 2021 Kansai may be an excellent opportunity to further develop these existing connections. For example, you may want to visit your partner city in Kansai with locals from your city who are participating in the WMG 2021 Kansai.

Even if your city does not have connections with any city in the Kansai region, the WMG 2021 Kansai may be a good opportunity to further develop any existing relationships your city has with Japan. For example, you can visit Japan with locals from your city to participate in the WMG 2021 Kansai, and after the games, visit your partner city to create an opportunity for the locals of your city and the locals of your partner city to interact.

If your city is considering initiating a new sister city or friendship city relationship, it might be a good idea to explore this possibility with the cities hosting the WMG 2021 Kansai. The locals of your city may find common characteristics shared between your city and one of the hosting cities of the WMG 2021 Kansai, or they may have excellent interactions with the locals of the hosting cities. The strong emotions shared through sporting activities and people interactions during the WMG 2021 Kansai may become the springboard for new sister city or friendship city relationships between Australia/New Zealand and Japan.