japan running news

http://sp.mainichi.jp/m/news.html?cid=20120419k0000m050014000c

translated by Brett Larner

The Nagasaki-based Sumco Techxiv company, a subdivision of major semiconductor silicon wafer manufacturer Sumco, announced on April 18 that it plans to disband its ekiden team on July 31.  A statement from the company read, "Due to difficulties in the current business environment we do not expect to be in a position to be able to continue our support of the athletics team."  The team hopes to continue elsewhere as a complete unit and is currently looking for a new sponsor.

The Sumco Techxiv team was founded in 1992, changing its name to Sumco in 1992.  Its current lineup includes eleven athletes headed by 2011 Lake Biwa Mainichi Marathon 7th-place finisher Satoshi Yoshii.  In 2001 team member Yuki Mori won the National Corporate Half Marathon Championships, going on to run on the Japanese National Team at that year's World Half Marathon Championships in England.  Sumco qualified for …

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2010022300974

translated by Brett Larner

On Feb. 23 the management of Team JAL Ground Service announced that due to economic difficulties at parent sponsor Japan Airlines the team will disband at the end of March. The team was founded in 1992. Last fall team member Ryosuke Fukuyama ran on the Japanese national team at the World Half Marathon, finishing 25th. Team JAL Service had always maintained a focus on the ekiden, finishing 11th at this year's New Year Ekiden championships.

http://osaka.yomiuri.co.jp/sp_others/20090421ks06.htm

translated by Brett Larner

Based in Fukushima Prefecture's Naruto, beverage maker Otsuka Seiyaku is helping a select crew of young women to achieve their dreams through sports. This month the company announced the formation of a new professional women's track and field team. 2009 Berlin World Championships national team member and world-class race walker Masumi Fuchise leads the initial lineup of five middle and long distance athletes, with additional spots expected to be filled to allow Otsuka Seiyaku to field a women's ekiden team. The new Otsuka Seiyaku team's approval by the Jitsugyodan Track and Field Association is pending, and head coach Tadasu Kono is optimistic about the future as he says, "Especially in times of recession such as these it's important to do something to help inspire the community through sports."

Otsuka Seiyaku founded its men's team in 1990. Athletes who have run under K…

http://mainichi.jp/area/ibaraki/news/20090403ddlk08040108000c.html

translated by Brett Larner

The Lake Senba walking and running path in downtown Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture will be undergoing construction work beginning this summer to extend the loop from 2986 m to precisely 3000 m. The current length was the result of a systematic measuring error which gave the popular loop a bad reputation among the local running community, who felt the course left them with "14 meters of dissatisfaction" with their workouts. The city of Mito plans to combine the correction with a nearby roadwork project, with work on the running course expected to last until March next year and cost a total of $150,000 U.S.

The Mito municipal government spent six years building the Lake Senba loop from '96 to '02, only to discover Rikuren rules specifying course measurement standards shortly after completion of the path. The Rikuren requirements state course distance must be measured 30 cm from the ins…

http://hochi.yomiuri.co.jp/sports/etc/news/20090309-OHT1T00011.htm
http://sankei.jp.msn.com/sports/other/090308/oth0903081346005-n1.htm
http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009030800077
http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/article.php?mid=P2009030800113&genre=L1&area=K00

translated and edited by Brett Larner

In the 16th and final running of the Kyoto City Half Marathon on Mar. 8, the Hakone Ekiden's 'New God of the Mountain,' first-year Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) won his half marathon debut in 1:03:16. Although he beat 2008 World Half Marathon national team member Kazuo Ietani (31, Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko), Kashiwabara had a mature view of his performance, saying, "I can't let myself be satisfied with a run like this."

In the women's race, Kyoto native Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) took over two minutes of her PB to win the women's race in 1:11:58. A pack of three stayed together until the final 5 km, when Nishihara attacked and dropped her two comp…

http://www.kyoto-np.co.jp/article.php?mid=P2009022500210&genre=L1&area=K00

translated and edited by Brett Larner

The final edition of the Kyoto City Half Marathon takes place Mar. 8, with an invited field of six athletes leading the way. Having become a national sensation with his stunning run in January's Hakone Ekiden, Ryuji Kashiwabara (Toyo Univ.) tops the list of four invited men, while National University Women's Ekiden anchor stage winner Kasumi Nishihara (Bukkyo Univ.) will run the women's race.

Kashiwabara set a new record on the Hakone Ekiden's legendary 5th stage while only a 1st-year, leading Toyo on to its first-ever Hakone win. All eyes will be focused upon him as he makes his half marathon debut. 2008 World Half Marathon national team member Kazuo Ietani (Team Sanyo Tokushu Seiko) is also in the field, as are Ietani's teammate Jun Shinoto, who set a new stage record on Hakone's 9th leg in 2008 before graduating from Chuo Gakuin University, a…

http://www.jiji.com/jc/c?g=spo_30&k=2009022500755

translated by Brett Larner

Citing a decline in the strength of the business environment, the Oki electronics company announced on Feb. 25 that effective Mar. 31 it is eliminating its running team, known as one of the strongest professional women's squads. The team currently includes six athletes along with a support staff of eleven. Oki has pledged to assist its runners with finding positions in other teams and to provide jobs within the company for those athletes who may wish to remain as ordinary workers. The company's public relations office issued a statement saying, "We genuinely regret the necessity of taking this step. We offer our most sincere apologies to team members whose activities we have supported until now and thank them for all their efforts."

The Miyazaki-based Team Oki was founded in 1986. In 1988 Hidekoku Hiroshima, the man who developed the Soh brothers Shigeru and Takashi into legendary marathone…

http://www.asahi.com/sports/spo/TKY200901280085.html

translated by Brett Larner

Let's put corporate logos on our marathons! Rikuren is planning to change its regulations to allow marathons and ekidens in Japan to begin adding sponsoring companies to their race names and to increase the amount of advertising along the course. The move comes during the current recession in hopes of making the events more attractive to potential sponsors.

The decision to make the change took place in December last year. Until now, track races were permitted to advertise their sponsor's names but road races were prohibited from such promotion. Looking at overseas marathons such as the 'Flora London Marathon' and the 'ING New York City Marathon,' the inclusion of the sponsoring food maker or financial institution in the race name is simply a given. "We've made some changes to come into line with IAAF guidelines, not because of the recession" a Rikuren marketing executive …

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sp20090211a1.html

Team Nissan's Silas Jui finished 2nd at the Karatsu 10-Miler on Feb. 8. Nissan is unlikely to be the only company to eliminate its sports teams in the current economic environment.