Japan is turning cricket into a vehicle for sports diplomacy as the country prepares for an unprecedented period of international activity, headlined by a T20I against India and followed by an Asian Games competition featuring several of the sport’s leading nations.
The September 22 match in Sano will become the first time Japan, an International Cricket Council (ICC) Associate Member, faces a Full Member. Securing world champions India represents a major breakthrough for the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which spent more than a year working to bring the Indian team to the country.
The fixture arrives at a significant moment for a sport that remains relatively small in Japan. The country has 7,300 registered cricket players and 16 grounds, while its women’s T20I team is ranked 39th globally and its men’s team two positions lower.
JCA Chief Executive Naoki Alex Miyaji told Reuters: “One match or competition itself won’t change anything, and we are certainly not going to think that suddenly it’s going to be as popular as baseball or football in Japan.”
Miyaji added: “But the match against India is the first page of a new era.”
Government diplomacy helps unlock India fixture
The JCA’s efforts to secure a match against India gained additional momentum after the Japanese government became involved, turning a cricket initiative into part of the wider relationship between the two countries.
Earlier this year, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi visited India and presented his counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar with a cricket jersey provided by the JCA. Jaishankar responded with a bat signed by Indian cricketers.
The diplomatic engagement subsequently reached the countries’ political leadership. Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takachi met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July, with the two leaders agreeing to commemorate 75 years of diplomatic relations through a cricket match named the Suzuka Cup.
Miyaji said: “With the government involvement and keenness to use cricket as sports diplomacy, we were able to go to the Indian board and offer this opportunity to train and play a T20 International in Sano.”
The relationship between the JCA and Japanese diplomatic officials also provided another route for cricket to become part of bilateral engagement with India.
He explained: “We had the Japanese embassy in New Delhi seeking our support for cricket diplomacy. They understand cricket is a big thing in India, and how they can use cricket to build friendships between the two countries.”
Suzuki adds commercial weight to cricket push
Japan’s cricket ambitions have also attracted backing from Suzuki, providing the initiative with support from a major Japanese company with a longstanding presence in India.
The sponsorship adds a commercial dimension to the institutional relationships supporting the sport, while giving cricket greater visibility within Japan as the country prepares to host international competition.
He said: “To be able to have a cricket tournament that Suzuki is fully behind — that gives out a message to the Japanese community that this is a sport that Suzuki is backing, so it must be significant.”
Asian Games bring Full Member nations to Japan
The India fixture will be followed by another major opportunity for Japanese cricket when the Asian Games bring Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan to the country for the cricket competition.
Matches will be staged at a repurposed baseball venue in Nisshin, outside Nagoya. The JCA had proposed the Sano International Cricket Ground, but organisers ultimately chose to convert the baseball facility to address logistical considerations.
The association will nevertheless play a role in preparations through relationships it has developed internationally. A partnership with Sri Lanka Cricket, established through sports diplomacy nearly three years ago, is supporting preparations for the Asian Games, with a Sri Lankan curator overseeing work on the pitches in Nisshin.
For the JCA, the combination of an India international, government engagement, commercial support and the Asian Games provides an opportunity to build on years of development work without assuming that a short burst of elite cricket will transform the sport overnight.
As Japan prepares for its most prominent period of cricket activity yet, Miyaji concluded: “It’s time to flourish.”
