Japan's Agency for Cultural Affairs, Sports Agency and Tourism Agency jointly held a "Sports, Culture & Tourism Awards 2016" ceremony in Tokyo on March 16 to present the Grand Prize and Commissioner's Awards, choosing from among 10 nominations, as part of the program of their inaugural International Symposium on Sports, Culture & Tourism.

The three governmental agencies overseeing cultural affairs, sports and tourism concluded an agreement on comprehensive partnership in March 2016 to leverage the synergy effects of their policy collaboration in order to establish and spread emerging regional and Japanese brands, boost the number of tourists visiting Japan and revitalize domestic tourism. In September the same year, they selected and announced the 10 best entries in a nationwide public contest among endeavors for sports, culture and tourism.

The awarding ceremony was attended as presenters by Daichi Suzuki, Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency, Ryohei Miyata, Commissioner of the Agency for Cultural Affairs, and Akihiko Tamura, Commissioner of the Japan Tourism Agency. They called for support in moving forward the project jointly promoted by their three agencies. The Grand Prize of the "Sports, Culture & Tourism Awards 2016" was won by an entry titled "Cycle Tourism Centered around the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido, a Sanctuary for Cyclists" and submitted by a council for promotion of the Setouchi Shimanami Kaido, a seaside highway connecting eight islands with nine bridges in the scenic Seto Inland Sea region. The Sports Agency Commissioner's Award was presented to "World Heritage Himeji Castle Marathon" in Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture. "Sports Yabusame (traditional Japanese horseback archery) Competition" in Towada City, Aomori Prefecture, received the Cultural Affairs Agency Commissioner's Award.

Besides the awarding ceremony, the symposium featured a keynote speech, a crosstalk session, workshops and others.

The combination of sports, culture and tourism is expected to be further developed and advanced by various municipalities and local organizations, and we would appreciate your attention to this subject going forward.