The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) has sent three rugby coaches to two Asian countries with the cooperation of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA, President: Akihiko Tanaka) and through the JICA’s volunteer project as a part of its regional contribution activity called “Asian Scrum Project”.
The purpose is to develop the Game of Rugby in the countries the coaches were sent and they engage in the activities of regional promotion of rugby toward young people, technique and skill coaching for clubs and national team(s) to improve their performance and education of local coaches and rugby staff.
The coaches are assigned as the JICA’s “short-term volunteer (Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteer (JODV))”, which the volunteers between the ages of 20 and 39 work by utilizing their skills and experiences on the basis of requests from developing countries.
“Asian Scrum Project” is what the JRFU has been working on to promote and develop Asian rugby and build a cooperation system between Asian countries toward the Rugby World Cup 2019, the first-ever rugby world cup held in Asia.

-JICA Volunteer Programme 　the JICA’s website:
JICA’s volunteer program are operated by JICA in the budget of the Japanese government’ ODA. Based on needs from developing counties, the JICA recruits, select, train and then send volunteers who have and “wish to utilize” their skills, knowledge and experiences as appropriate “for people in such developing countries”. The main purposes are; (1) to contribute to economic and social development and reconstruction of developing counties, (2) to cultivate international standpoint and return volunteer experience to society.
Particularly, the JOCV program was inaugurated in 1965 and over 37,000 volunteers participated dispatched its long history.
Recruitment targets Japanese citizens between the ages of 20 and 39 (JOVCs/Youth Volunteers for Nikkei communities) and other Japanese citizens between the ages of 40 and 69 (Senior Volunteers/Senior Volunteers for Nikkei Communities) separately. The areas of cooperation cover wide range including agriculture, forestry and fisheries, sanitation, education and culture, sports as well as planning and administration. The characteristic of the JICA Volunteer Programme is that volunteers can utilize their own knowledge, skills and experiences. The regular dispatch period is two years while short-term volunteer programme is also available for a minimum of 1 month.

Volunteer coaches/Countries/Period

Name:         Shinichi FURUKAWA
Date of Birth:    September 16, 1980 (32 y/o)
Place of Birth:    Osaka, Japan
Company:    Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd.
Position in the Programme:    Development Officer
Working for:    Kurunegala, Kurunegala District, Sri Lanka (TBC)
Period:        March 26, 2013– June 23, 2013

Name:         Yu HAKUBA
Date of Birth:    May 25, 1983 (29 y/o)
Place of Birth:    Ibaraki, Japan
Working for:    Japan Rugby Football Union
Position in the Programme:    Development Officer
Dispatched to:    Badulla, Badulla District, Sri Lanka (TBC)
Period:        March 26, 2013– June 23, 2013

Comments of Shinichi FURUKAWA, Development Officer;
“It’s a great pleasure to be able to engage in development of Sri Lanka rugby through the JICA Volunteer Programme. In Sri Lanka, rugby is a popular sports after cricket. I would like to give my best efforts to contribute to development of Sri Lanka rugby and deepen friendship between the two countries.”

Comments of Yu HAKUBA, Development Officer;
“I am pleased to be given another great opportunity after my coaching study in New Zealand last year. Toward the Rugby World Cup 2019 in Japan, I would like to contribute to development of Asian rugby. On behalf of Japanese rugby coaches, with carrying the rising sun flag on myself, I will do my best to contribute to promotion an development of rugby in Sri Lanka.”