Japan activates diplomacy to help cricket blossom

The unprecedented stretch of high-level cricket is the result of diplomatic manoeuvring, corporate sponsorship and years of quiet groundwork by the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which has been helping the sport take root in the country.

The JCA pulled off a major coup when it persuaded men's Twenty20 world champions India to play the home side in Sano on September 22, marking the first time associate member Japan will face an International Cricket Council (ICC) full member.

Former world champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka, along ⁠with fellow test-playing nations Bangladesh and Afghanistan, will also be in action at a repurposed baseball venue in Nisshin in September when the Asian Games cricket competition begins.

'A NEW ERA'JCA Chief Executive Naoki Alex Miyaji is excited at the prospect, while remaining clear-eyed about the limits of what two weeks of cricket can achieve. Japan has only 7,300 registered players and 16 cricket grounds.

The women's T20 team are ranked 39th in the world, two rungs above the men's side. "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.

"But the match against India is the first page of a new era. "The JCA had been working for more than a year to persuade its Indian counterpart, the BCCI, to play a T20 International in Sano.

Those efforts gained momentum in recent months when the Japanese government got involved. On a visit to India earlier this year, Japan's Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi gifted his Indian ‌counterpart Subrahmanyam ⁠Jaishankar a cricket jersey supplied by the JCA.Jaishankar reciprocated with a bat signed by Indian cricketers.

Japan's Prime Minister Sanae Takachi then met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July, and the two leaders agreed to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries with a cricket match, dubbed the Suzuka Cup.

"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," Miyaji said. "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. "'TIME TO FLOURISH'It also helped to have the backing of a major Japanese sponsor, Suzuki, whose vehicles have dominated Indian roads for over four decades.

"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," said Miyaji.

The JCA had offered the Sano International Cricket Ground as a venue for the Asian Games competition but local organisers opted to re-purpose a baseball stadium on the outskirts of Nagoya ⁠to avoid logistical issues.

The JCA has still been able to offer Asian Games organisers valuable support thanks to its relationship with Sri Lanka Cricket, a partnership forged through sports diplomacy nearly three years ago. A Sri Lankan curator is currently overseeing pitch preparations in Nisshin for the Games.

After years of working behind the scenes, the JCA hopes to start reaping the rewards of those efforts. "It's time to flourish," Miyaji said.