Yamato Transport has been selected as an official partner of the Handball Association.

The Japan Handball Association and Yamato Transport signed an official partnership agreement on July 25 to support the development of handball in Japan, holding a press conference at the Ajinomoto National Training Center in Kita Ward, Tokyo.
Japan's handball teams have secured qualification for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics: the men's team for the first time in 32 years and the women's team for the first time in 44 years.

At the outset, Hiro Tada, Vice President of the Japan Handball Association, stated: "Japan has appointed Ulrike Kirkeler as head coach of the women's national team and Dagur Sigurdsson as head coach of the men's team for the 2020 Tokyo Games. The world recognizes that we are seriously aiming for Olympic medals. Interest in handball is also growing domestically, as evidenced by the fact that many tickets for the Japan-Korea regular match on July 29 sold out in advance. We hope you will look forward to it."
Yuichi Usui, Managing Executive Officer of Yamato Transport, touched on the impetus for the partnership agreement. He noted that the Japanese name for handball is "Sōkyū" (meaning "passing the ball"), and that the sport involves passing the ball from hand to hand to score goals, which overlaps with the image of their Takkyubin delivery service. "Takkyubin's creed is to transport packages with care, and we felt an affinity there," he stated. We want to support handball and walk together as partners for mutual development toward the Tokyo 2020 Games." The company plans to launch various activities going forward.

Next, Taichi Kokubun of TOKIO, who serves as Yamato Transport's CM character, took the stage. "I'm here alone today, but the other members wanted to come too. We'll support handball as a group," he commented. He expressed understanding of the partnership between the two, stating, "Handball involves sharing the ball as a team, and Yamato Transport also delivers packages swiftly through teamwork."
While clearly stating he has "zero experience" in handball, Kunimoto joked, "I want to use today as a starting point to energize the handball world. The national team roster is already set, and I didn't make it, but if by any chance someone gets injured, I'm ready to roll up my sleeves anytime," sending encouragement to the Japanese national team.

At the venue, four Japanese national team players—Masataka Kimura, Hiroyasu Tamagawa, Kimiko Tobita, and Nozomi Hara—appeared wearing the newly designed uniforms. Kokubun, who performed a ball-throwing exchange with Hara, repeatedly passed the ball with a beaming smile, saying, "You can throw it harder!" as he promoted his bid for a spot on the national team.
Association Official Site:http://handball.or.jp/