USJC Earthquake Relief Fund Report - US-Japan Council

The USJC Earthquake Relief Fund Proudly Supported:
U.S.-Japan Council Earthquake Relief Fund Supports Japanese Youth Baseball
Baseball is a beloved sport in both the U.S. and Japan. After the Great East Japan Earthquake, the USJC
Earthquake Relief Fund helped send Mizuno bats, balls, baseball equipment and uniforms to 18 youth teams
in Tohoku, providing an opportunity to play baseball once again. One team from Shichigahama, the Little
Senior team, sent a letter of appreciation for the baseball equipment. The team placed second in the Tohoku
Regional League and won a ticket to the Jingu National competition. Many of the players were living in
temporary shelters at the time.
Another program that the USJC Council Earthquake Relief Fund supported was the rehabilitation of a field in
Ishinomaki City. The field was damaged when the U.S. military and Japanese Self-Defense Forces used it as a
staging area for humanitarian relief efforts after the disaster. While it saved the lives of many, the community
lost a very important place where teams from elementary, middle and high schools as well as adult leagues
could practice and play tournaments. The rehabilitation of the field is almost complete, thanks to the funding
from the USJC Earthquake Relief Fund, Major League Baseball, MLB Players Association and the Japanese
Cultural and Community Center of Northern California (JCCCNC).
Right: As a part of Major League Baseball's Opening Series
in Japan, members of the Seattle Mariners and Oakland
Athletics visited the Ishinomaki field during its
reconstruction. Japanese pitcher Hisashi Iwakuma of the
Mariners was a big hit with youth players during the March
27th clinic, made possible by support from the Boeing
Company.
Left: Major League Baseball (Asia) Vice President Jim Small
and U.S.-Japan Council President Irene Hirano Inouye
visited Ishinomaki City in October of 2011 to make
preparations for the rehabilitation of the city's baseball field.
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