Spin back to 2014/15, when an advert for a sports diplomacy symposium event at SOAS University of London popped into my inbox, little did I know 8 or so years on my connection with SOAS would culminate with a fantastic event about all things Japan and sport.

I will not bore you with reflections on the 8 or so years but here are a couple of links to opportunities I’ve blogged about previously all vicariously connected to activities at/through/funded by SOAS (Output from the 2015 symposium, InterAsian Connections conference 2018, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science fellowship 2019, a sports diplomacy conference in Edinburgh 2022). My current role with SOAS is as a Research Associate in the Japan Research Centre (a visiting position), working closely alongside Helen Macnaughtan on a project about all things Japan and Sport.

As you can see from the selection of images above, on the 16th of May 2023, we finally managed to host the final event for the Japan Research Centre Sport Symposia Series ‘Crossing the Finish Line: Our Final Japan and Sport Symposium’ and the recording is now live:

A ‘surprise’ for the evening was an award for Helen, who was presented with the the Ambassador’s Commendation by Mr Hayashi Hajime, Ambassador of Japan to the United Kingdom, in recognition of her ‘distinguished service’ in contributing to the “deepening of mutual understanding and friendship between Japan and the United Kingdom”. Amazing work Dr Mac.! We also had a fabulous keynote from Prof. Robin Kietlinski who guided the 100 strong in-person and on-line audience through a century of breakthroughs for Japanese Sportswomen. The pictures and videos utilised by Robin illustrated the varying milestones in a way that truly enthralled the audience, with many ‘oooos’ and ‘ahhhhs’ at varying moments throughout the great talk.

The other marvellous part of the event was the ‘soft launch’ of our academic text the Handbook of Japan and Sport (due for publication in the coming months). As you will see from the snippets in the slideshow below and the video above, we are very proud of the rich diversity of voices who contribute to the volume. The 16 chapters cover a range of sports, themes and time periods. Importantly, the 23 contributors are based in 7 different countries, span a variety of career stages and represent a variety of disciplinary perspectives. It has been hard work to bring this text together, but incredibly rewarding! The text is aimed at university libraries, that said, we’ve put together publicly accessible blogs, podcasts, and videos with a variety of resource connected to Japan and sport. Let us know if you want access to any of this resource.

Finally, a positive reflection and extension of THANK YOUs to everyone who engaged with the event, including those in the room, online and part of the production. Hopefully more engagements to come, especially when it involves sake…!

VPos