The Holy Land of Japanese Sports Honoring history, performing human formations

On May 25th, the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, in cooperation with the Japan Rugby Football Union, held a human formation event titled "Dreams, Smiles, and Inspiration: Smile Message" at the National Stadium in Shinjuku Ward, Tokyo.

The day's event, the "Asia Five Nations (A5N) 2014 Japan National Team vs. Hong Kong National Team" match, which also served as the final qualifier for the Rugby World Cup 2015 Asia region, marked the last official sports match at the stadium before its demolition for reconstruction. Prior to the match, various events were held to honor the history of the stadium, known as the "sacred ground of Japanese sports." This human-letter event was part of those celebrations.

As the new National Stadium will be the main venue for the Rugby World Cup 2019, the first time the tournament will be held in Asia, children on the pitch formed the human letters "JAPAN 2019" to promote the event. Subsequently, Hiroyuki Murofushi, the Athens Olympic gold medalist in men's hammer throw, joined them, and the formation changed to "TOKYO 2020," symbolizing the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games. Mr. Murofushi shared that he had cheered for his father, Shigenobu, at this National Stadium since childhood and resolved to compete in the Olympics and World Championships during his high school years. Expressing his reluctance to part with this place of deep memories, he stated, "The stadium closes the curtain on its 56-year history. I believe the reborn new stadium will give us even more dreams and hopes," while also voicing his anticipation for the completion of the new stadium, which will serve as the main stadium for the Tokyo Games.