WKF President Antonio Espinós met Japanese Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa to discuss the preparations ahead of the upcoming debut of Karate at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 and to analyse the active involvement of the sport in the success of the event. 

WKF President Antonio Espinós met Japanese Olympics Minister Tamayo Marukawa to discuss the preparations ahead of the upcoming debut of Karate at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, as well as to analyse the active involvement of the sport in the success of the event. 

The meeting took place in Tokyo during Mr. Espinós four-day visit to Japan. The head of Karate’s international governing body has travelled to the Asian country to work closely with local authorities and representatives in order to continue setting the groundwork for Karate’s highly anticipated debut at the Olympic Games. 

Mr. Espinós’ meeting with the Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games aimed at giving an insight into the measures taken ahead of the first appearance of the sport at the Olympic Games while learning more about Karate’s contribution to Tokyo 2020 legacy. 

The challenges, particularities and state of readiness of Karate were also analysed. WKF President informed Minister Tamayo Marukawa of the growing excitement of the Karate family for the Olympic debut of the sport. 

“We are living historic moments in Karate. It was a privilege to meet with Minister Marukawa and we had fruitful conversations around the active role that Karate will play in our joint efforts to make Tokyo 2020 a huge success. We are ready to assist Minister Marukawa and the Japanese government in any way they need to contribute to this success,” said Mr. Espinós. 

(Picture: From left to right: WKF General Secretary Toshihisa Nagura, WKF President Antonio Espinós and Minister in charge of the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games Tamayo Marukawa)