New Zealand Rugby and Mitsui Fudosan partnership takes centre stage in Japan

Sport and diplomacy have been centre stage for the Prime Minister’s official Japanese delegation, with rugby and rugby partners engaged in key activities.

New Zealand Rugby recently announced a partnership with Mitsui Fudosan, a trusted and leading name in Japanese Real Estate; it is set to kick start with the Māori All Blacks arriving in Kashiwa City next week.

New Zealand Rugby Commercial (NZRC) CEO Craig Fenton was part of the Prime Minister’s official delegation, which saw rugby featured heavily.

Following on from the successful sport leadership luncheon featuring All Black ambassadors Sir John Kirwan and Conrad Smith, the Prime Minister met with a range of New Zealand Rugby partners in Japan including premium global partner Taisho, long term partner and Sealord majority shareholder, Nissui, and NZR’s new partner Mitsui Fudosan, where Chairman Mr Masanobu Komoda enjoyed a private meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss New Zealand projects.

Mitsui Fudosan’s Chairman Mr Masanobu Komoda said; "We are keen to accelerate our goal of "creating neighbourhoods harnessing the power of sports and entertainment", and optimizing the value of real experiences.

“We are excited to have begun our new partnership with NZR starting from June 2024 and by supporting the activities of the Teams in Black in Japan through 2027, we will be taking action with the All Blacks to change our future through our neighbourhoods and to create exciting experiences through sports. We look forward to strengthening our ties with New Zealand and contribute as the bridge between the two nations".

Craig Fenton said; “Mitsui Fudosan’s commitment to innovation, sustainability and the power sports can have to grow communities is something we really value and we look forward to working together over the next four years.

“I’m delighted to celebrate our partnership during the week of the Prime Minister’s trade delegation to Japan, emphasising the importance of the deep cultural, sporting and business ties with Japan. 

“We are honoured that NZRC is part of the group of leaders attending, reflecting the extent to which New Zealand Rugby represents us on the world stage as one of our most famous export  businesses,” said Fenton.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said “New Zealand and Japan enjoy close sporting ties. It has been great to have New Zealand Rugby and its representatives join me on this mission as we continue to grow our connections through sport.”