The Yutaka Giken corporation based in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka announced on Oct. 26 that its women's ekiden team will be disbanded at the end of fiscal year on Mar. 31, 2018, drawing to a close a team history spanning a quarter century since its founding as Shizuoka's first corporate women's ekiden team in 1992. The team was founded with the aim of fostering a sense of camaraderie and solidarity among the company's employees, for promoting the company name, and for improving the relationship with the surrounding committee. Based in Hamamatsu since the team's founding, the "Blue Wind" women qualified for the National Corporate Women's Ekiden Championships 18 times and regularly hosted running workshops with local elementary school children, becoming a public symbol of the company. However, during an Oct. 26 press conference to announce the company's mid-year financial statement, CEO Katsuhiro Kurokawa cited the recent diversification of the compan...
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