Message from the WKO president

Dear Branch Chiefs and Contacts,

There are now only two weeks left until the 10^th World Championship.

Here in Tokyo, the preparation work to welcome everyone from around the world is almost complete. This spring, when the earthquake occurred in Eastern Japan, the first thing that came to my mind was whether or not we will be able to conduct this World Championship. However, thanks to the support and cooperation from everyone, this tournament is now about to be held, and I would like to express my deepest appreciation and gratitude to this fact.

For the competitors, the day of the final battle is finally arriving. From the bottom of my heart, I hope that you will arrive on tournament day in your best condition, worthy of deciding the No. 1 of Karate in the world.

There are two weeks to go before the tournament, and we are carrying out various PR activities in order to further promote this tournament, the strongest and largest in the world of its kind. We are using different types of media in our PR activities, such as TV, radio, internet, newspapers, magazines, train cars, and station signs. We are not only using this kind of high-tech media, but we have also used a lot of man-power in order to put up posters all over restaurants, shops and other facilities in the Tokyo area. By doing this kind of promotion, we had the opportunity to visit many people and directly explain to them about this magnificent event. I believe this activity represents WKO, which highly values dialogue.

We have received tremendous support, sponsorship, and PR in various ways, from people in Tokyo, where this event will be held, and other vital areas. I believe this great support is a way for the Japanese people to express our gratitude towards the opportunity to welcome so many overseas people, despite of the effects of the earthquake, which I have mentioned earlier. Now, the remaining task for us, the organizers, is to welcome our guests in a full Tokyo Metropolitan Gymnasium, and to present a suitable stage for the greatest Karate Championship in the world.

We will use the time we have left to carry out the final preparations, with the same fighting spirit as the competitors. The preparation for the Special Demonstration that will be performed by the actor, Sensei Dolph Lundgren, is also being carried out smoothly. The music for this demonstration has been produced by our strong supporter, the famous Japanese musician, Mr. Tsuyoshi Nagabuchi. Recently, I had the opportunity to listen to this music, and it is an extremely spectacular and inspiring work. I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to Mr. Nagabuchi for his cooperation.

For the competitors, please be proud to fight at this tournament, the dream stage in which all will compete to become the No. 1 of Karate in the world.

For our Branch Chiefs and Contacts, you will participate in many international meetings and the World Karate Seminar, which will be held before and after the tournament. I am excited and very much looking forward to being able to spend time with our Karate friends from across the world.

As I always say, the motto for the WKO is the democratic system in which we always meet face to face, have eye contact during conversations, and always listen to the opinion of others. We are a group of Budo Karate-ka, who cherish the connection between people. Therefore, let us hear your opinions and ideas, which will enable us to make the WKO an even more wonderful organization.

Are your own preparations for the World Championship in place? We understand that you have a long and tiresome journey ahead of you, but we wish you a safe journey, and we will wait for you here in Tokyo. It will be a great pleasure to see all of you again.

OSU

Kenji Midori
President
WKO