“Boxing and Greater East Asia: The Oriental Championship and Japanese Diplomacy to Asia after the War” (Boyo Press, 2016)

Suguru Norimatsu (Lecturer, Kanto Gakuin University )

　It is a great honor to receive the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Prize. I would like to show my gratitude for finding significance of this book from many brilliant works. I wish to thank the Masayoshi Ohira Memorial Foundation, the Board of Directors and the Selection Committee. June 12th held an award ceremony is the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Masayoshi Ohira and the Philippines’ Independence Day. Although it has been more than half a century since the Oriental Boxing Championship in 1952, postwar sports exchange is concentrated renewed attention on. This is a curious turn of fate. 　　“Boxing and Greater East Asia: The Oriental Championship and Japanese Diplomacy to Asia after the War” is a story that depicts that boxers restored the war-torn relationship between Japan and the Philippines from nothing. I received an almost undue amount of compliments from honored guests. But I only obtained the understanding and cooperation of boxing circles, listing to their words. This book is a true team effort. This award is academically a tremendous validation of people’s way of life as a contributor to an improved relationship through boxing. 　　In these days when political tensions are growing throughout Asian countries, we need to have a better appreciation of ‘others’ in Japan and the world. The Oriental Boxing Championship shows that the door to a dialogue is always open even in a diplomatic stalemate. If we broke ourselves free from the belief in which the improvement of competitive abilities of athletes is a critical issue for study of sports, sports would produce the overlooked historical facts and interpretations of them. I affirm that it is the contribution of sports to society. I strongly hope that my little work would contribute to the possibility of a new academic approach and international understanding.

Profile
Born in 1977 in Matsuyama city, Ehime Prefecture. Suguru Norimatsu is a lecturer of the College of Sociology, Kanto Gakuin University. He obtained B.A. in humanities from Miyazaki Municipal University, M.A. and the Ph.D. in social and cultural studies from Kyushu University. His major are Sport Sociology and Cultural Studies.