“Respect” born from diverse perspectives, “new ideas” and “empathy” born from respect, and “supporting each other” to accelerate the “ordinary” world — SOCIAL INNOVATION in 2022 In WEEK (SIW), [Women Leading] was set as one of the conference themes.
In order to create moments that connect ideas born from further encounters, reunions, and casual conversations to action without stopping that flow, Future Design Shibuya will be held in 2023 in line with "Women's History Month" in March. "Shibuya Women Leading Connection" was held on Monday, March 27th.
Sae Sugiura, deputy mayor of Shibuya Ward, also attended, saying, "While Shibuya City is carrying out a lot of sports events and sports projects, we want to revitalize sports while borrowing the power of various companies. I want to connect horizontally and open up the future of women and sports."
After that, there was a talk show with Ms. Kimiko Date, a tennis player, and presentations by Molten Co., Ltd. and Sumadori Co., Ltd.
Please see below for the content of the talk show with Kimiko Date.
Networking event "Shibuya Women Leading Connection"with the theme of "women x sports x Shibuya"
Date: March 27, 2023 (Monday)
Venue: BMW XM POP UP in HARAJUKU
Organizer: Future Design Shibuya
Co-organizer: DAZN / Next Generations
Cooperation: BMW Japan / Molten Co., Ltd. / Keep Playing Project / Sumadori Co., Ltd.
Here we report the pattern in detail.
event report
<On stage>
Kimiko Date (tennis player / representative director of Japan Women's Tennis Top50 Club)
Shinko Osada (Future Design Shibuya Director/Secretary General)
Kimiko Date is a legendary player who led the Japanese tennis world, ranking 4th in the WTA (Women's Tennis Association) ranking. After retiring in 1996 while still ranked 8th in the world, he returned in 2008 (retired for the second time in 2017). Currently, she has established the Japan Women's Tennis Top50 Club (hereafter JWT50), and while working hard to nurture the next generation, she is taking on new challenges such as producing the bakery "FRAU KRUMM BREAD & COFFEE" in Shibuya Ward.
Regarding continuing to take on challenges as a woman, Ms. Date said, "Since I was little, I have been energized by sports. It's become," he said, and then continued, "Honestly, there are times when it's hard and painful."
“Even if there are hardships and hardships, when I reach my goal, I know that there is more joy than it. I can do my best, and while experiencing it, I learned that ``the goal is fun, but the process is also fun.'' If you take it easy, you won't feel a sense of accomplishment."
Enjoy not only the scenery of the summit, but also the journey. Enjoy the destination of your trip, but also enjoy the preparation. Evaluate the process at work, not just the results. This sense of value, which many people tend to forget as they spend their days, but which many people can relate to, gives courage to many people by reaching it as the words of Mr. Date, who was a top player in the world.
Next, Mr. Date talks about his thoughts on the establishment of "JWT50".
“I have been involved in tennis both in my first and second careers.In particular, returning to the sport was a challenge to my age and my blank space.When my second career ended, I was not a professional tennis player, but my awareness of being a tennis player changed. I wondered what I could do at that time, and decided to support the development of junior and female players and those who seriously aim for the world.”
In the 1990s, there were about 10 Japanese women ranked within the top 100 in the world rankings, but now only Naomi Osaka (currently resting). What can I do to bring out the potential of the younger generation and women so that Japanese people can aim for the top of the world? It seems that he thought it through and repeated preparations until the establishment of JWT50.
“What is the problem, what is the problem, what is the solution?
There are many important things other than technique, such as thinking, practice methods, and diet, so I always play catch-up with communication as a support centered on mentoring. In terms of competition support, we will hold 6 tournaments necessary to aim for the world. I would like to provide more opportunities to compete against the world in a Japanese environment.”
Mr. Date, who continues to provide both hard and soft support for nurturing the next generation, explains that improving the environment is also extremely important.
“There are three major types of tennis courts that meet global standards: hard courts, red clay, and natural turf. In Japan, more than 50% of courts are sand-filled artificial turf. The material becomes industrial waste, there are many heat reflections, there are places where you can slip and brakes, etc. Shibuya Ward supports the movement to increase the number of hard courts as much as possible. I think that if we can create a world-class environment in Japan in the future, it will lead to a bright future for the tennis world as well.”
Mr. Date's third career is nurturing the next generation and inheriting his own experience. What is the driving force behind such challenges and actions?
“Just listening to the opinions of young people gives me energy. Only a handful of people can actually go to the world. I can't do it, and it's hard to give up on my dreams.My ultimate goal is to continue to communicate with people who have devoted themselves to tennis, including those people, and to make them think, 'I'm glad I'm playing tennis.'"
No matter the genre, not everyone who treads it will be successful. But you can use your experience to build a better career. Just as it is important to "enjoy not only the goal but also the process", Mr. Date's remarks convey the idea that it is only through a difficult and painful process that we can seize second and third chances. increase.
And finally, he gave me a message about the importance of action and continuation.
“Amid the demand for diversity, I am keenly aware that when it comes to empowering women, we must take action rather than wait for others to recognize us. That experience made me stronger. And the world has changed by actually taking action.If more and more people take action, the world will become even better.The rest is continuation.Growth is not always visible, but Continuity will make a difference!”
It was impressive that each of Date's powerful messages was always spoken brightly with a cheerful smile. The mentality that hard work is fun, the process is an asset, and even if the results are hard to see, change will happen.
After that, Molten Co., Ltd., along with the Japan Women's Basketball League (W League), Japan Women's Professional Soccer League (WE League), and Japan Handball League (JHL), launched the "Keep Playing Project" to support all players, including female sports players. Presentations by Noa Hasegawa of Molten Co., Ltd., Miyuki Kobayashi of the Japan Women's Professional Soccer League WE League, and Nanami Takagi of the Japan Handball League.
Ms. Ai Minagawa of Smadori Co., Ltd. explained the concept of "smart drinking," which allows both drinkers and non-drinkers to enjoy various ways of drinking.
Then it was time for networking.
Light refreshments and Licaxxx's DJ make the venue lively.
There was no online distribution, and the meeting was all held offline. Many people must have been able to reconfirm the joy of meeting and interacting with people in real life for the first time in a long time.
We hope that the seeds of encounters and ideas born here will lead to more concrete actions.
