In front of the Tokyo Olympic torch relay starting on the 25th of this month, Norio Sasaki, a former coach of the Japan Women's Soccer Team and a torchbearer of "Nadeshiko Japan", said, "I want to start with the hope that it will end safely with no emotion." He talked about his enthusiasm.
Ten years before the Great East Japan Earthquake, Mr. Sasaki led Japan to the first victory in the World Cup Germany as a coach of Nadeshiko Japan.
At the Tokyo Olympic Torch Relay starting on the 25th of this month, the winning members at that time, including Mr. Sasaki, will be the first runners and will start from J-Village in Fukushima Prefecture.
Regarding the torch relay, which was approaching three days later, Mr. Sasaki said, "I'm really impressed that the start of the Olympic Games will be off as a torchbearer. It's a deep place. I want to get off to a good start hoping that the tournament will end safely. "
Mr. Sasaki continued to hold soccer classes and lectures in the disaster area, saying, "The people in the disaster area really gave me energy, so I have to give back. Immediately after the earthquake, I continued. After the soccer class, I saw a lot of loneliness on the backs of the participants, but I remember that after a few years, I started to come home with brightness. "
On top of that, "Nadeshiko Japan has a tradition of being sincere, fair and serious, and not giving up until the very end. I want people who see it to enjoy and be impressed, and give them something like that," he said to the tournament. I had high expectations for the Nadeshiko Japan players who will participate.