Thanks to the cooperation of many people, the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, which was in doubt due to the coronavirus pandemic, was successfully held without spectators in 2021, and women's softball was able to win consecutive gold medals for the first time in 13 years. .
I believe that Japan should take the lead in continuing to work to preserve the legacy of hosting the Tokyo Games, and to bring back softball, which was excluded from the 2024 Paris Games, at the 2028 LA Games and the 2032 Brisbane Games.
By emphasizing ``youth participation,'' one of the IOC's evaluation criteria, and holding the first planned Women's U15 Games in Tokyo, where the Olympic Games were held, the event will attract worldwide attention. We invited the tournament together with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, which agreed with this idea.
The 15-and-under generation participating this time will be around 20 to 24 years old from 2028 to 2032, and there are high expectations for their success in the JD League and top-tier world tournaments in the future. We hope that this will have a synergistic effect.
We are also planning a number of international exchange programs, providing opportunities for players to interact not only with each other, but also with children in the neighborhood.