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[TOKYO, JAPAN, 26 March 2013]
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| ©Japan Committee for UNICEF |
A total of 670,000 yen in royalties from the book Tsunagaru Kokoro, Hitori Janai, Team Dakara Tatakaeta (Connected Hearts, You're Not Alone, The Power of Teamwork), a book written by 27 Japanese swimmers who took part in the London Olympics, was donated to the Japan Committee for UNICEF (JCU) Japan Earthquake & Tsunami Emergency Relief fund. The donation was presented to JCU in a ceremony held on 26 March at the Ajinomoto National Training Center.
In the book the swimmers share their experience from the Olympics. The donation was proposed by the team captain, Takeshi Matsuda, suggesting that royalties made on the book could be used to support relief for the Great East Japan Earthquake.
At the ceremony, team captain Takeshi Matsuda commented: "We are a team of 27 highly individualistic people, but we were able to achieve what we did by working together. We made for a good team... Two years have now passed since the disaster, but reconstruction efforts are still underway. I hope that this humble donation will help the people of the Tohoku region."
Ryosuke Irie added, "I hope that children read this book and realize that the Olympics are not out of reach. I hope the book will give children something to dream about."
At the end of the ceremony, each swimmer commented on their aspirations for the Japanese national championships scheduled for April 2013. JCU is looking forward to the future success of the Japanese Olympic team!
Donations received from the team will be used to support psychosocial care, child protection and child-friendly reconstruction assistance.
