A video letter from Morioka to Mali: “Bonjour~ Nice to meet you all!”

Morioka City in Iwate Prefecture is the only city in the country designated as the host town for the Republic of Mali, and is also a pre-game training camp for the sport of Judo for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. However, with the Games postponed due to the current coronavirus situation affecting the entire world, countermeasure restrictions have made it difficult to conduct face-to-face interactions with athletes and committee members of the National Malian Team. Therefore, the city has launched a video letter interaction as a way to continue and motivate host town relationships with the team.

The first video letter featured various cityscapes and seasonal views of Morioka, in hopes of helping athletes and committee members visualize and know more about the region prior to their first visit.

“Spring ~Bonjour, nice to meet you all!”

The video also shared excitement in conducting future interaction and cultural exchange events with the national team by featuring an art project about the Republic of Mali made by local high school students, and also a scene of a typical Judo class held in Morioka Municipal BUDOKAN(sports complex), where the training for the Olympic camp will also be conducted.

The city plans to create new video letters once every three months or so, and maintain host town relationship with the country.

Sports Tourism Sec.
Morioka City Office
TEL: 019-603-8009
Email:sports-t@city.morioka.iwate.jp
(Inquiries in English or Japanese)

Or

Office of International Affairs
Department of Homeland Promotion
Iwate Prefectural Government
TEL: 019-629-5764
Email: AB0011@pref.iwate.jp
(Inquiries in English or Japanese)