Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on September 2012
Where are you from and what brought you to Japan?
Originally I’m from Portland, Oregon. I moved to the Los Angeles area at eight years old. I instantly became a huge Lakers fan, watching Magic Johnson’s championship runs. That pushed me to start living at the basketball court. Growing up with that passion helped me fight through some tough times as a kid. After becoming the first in my family to graduate university, I moved to Japan in 2001. I still live for the game, 24/7, and now I’m looking to give something back as well. I love the people and the energy here in Tokyo. I like the way this place keeps me fighting to stay on-point, and hungry for more.
Tell us about your project in one sentence (or two if you must).
We’ve got two main projects at the moment. Risingsuns.jp is a basketball player development/multimedia project that works with local leaders in the game to bring Japan’s rising talents to top overseas tournaments since 2009. Our Road To London 2012 project took a group of youth futsal players from the disaster-hit towns of Ishinomaki and Onagawa to participate in exchange activities at the London Olympics.
How did it get started?
We first got the ball bouncing at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. I was a graduate student here in Tokyo at International Christian University as a Rotary World Peace Fellow. The focus of my master’s thesis was on post-war reconciliation in East Asia and the potential for sport to help communities in the region move forward. With the timing of the Olympics in Beijing, I decided to make a pilot street ball project connecting Japanese and Chinese youth at the Games. At our second Olympic project in London, we’ve been trying to provide support for the reconstruction efforts in Tohoku. Seeing how football took center stage at Wembley Stadium, we decided to key in on that instead of basketball.
What do you do the rest of the time?
Since these “passion projects” have not reached the point of generating a revenue stream just yet, I work providing consulting and communication support for Japanese companies who are interested in developing global-facing projects and partnerships. I try to attend international conferences and symposiums as much as possible.
Best secret of the city?
I don’t know if Hato’s Bar in Naka Meguro is still a secret, but they’ve got the best BBQ and craft beer I’ve had in Tokyo. I also like going to a little bayside park that sits just across the water from Haneda airport, where you can kick back and watch the planes take off over your head.
If you could change one thing about Tokyo what would it be?
Not just in Tokyo, but all across Japan, I’d like to see kids find an alternative to their rigid bukatsu clubs. Building more basketball courts and free places to play in Tokyo would be nice, but I don’t see that happening. There’s just not enough space, and if there is, it’s expensive. So why not just make temporary “pop-up” courts, like pop-up shops. Put a hoop on a wall in Harajuku, and tell the kids to go nuts. Maybe we’ll break a few windows, but that could be just what we need to break the basketball slump…
How can people get involved in your projects?
By being a facilitator, or cultural intermediary. This is an area we are always working to improve upon. For anyone with that sort of background, please send us an email with some info about you and what specific types of things you’re interested in working on with us.
www.whatspo-tokyo.com. Email: contact@whatspo-tokyo.com. Follow @jasonhutson on Twitter for images and updates.
