Nippon Foundation Partners to Train 2020 Games Volunteers

On February 9, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympics Games welcomed the Nippon Foundation as an official contributor. The Tokyo-based nonprofit organization will draw on its expertise in disaster relief to help create training schemes for volunteers at the sporting events.

At the press conference announcing the initiative, Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō hailed the partnership, saying that he hopes that volunteers will serve as role models, in particular reflecting Japan’s changing social views of disabled people. Nippon Foundation Executive Director Sasakawa Junpei expressed gratitude for the honor, saying that the organization was dedicated to making volunteerism a lasting legacy of the 2020 Games.

The response to the call for volunteers has been overwhelming, with the Organizing Committee receiving over 200,000 applications for 80,000 positions. The Nippon Foundation started volunteer organization sessions the same day; the group plans to contribute in areas like creating content for training programs for volunteers and instructors and carrying out public relations events.

(Banner photo: Tokyo 2020 President Mori Yoshirō, at left, with Nippon Foundation Executive Director Sasakawa Junpei in Tokyo on February 9, 2019.)