OREANDA-NEWS. May 28, 2015. Comment from Toshihiko Ota, mayor of Toyota City

"We started the We Love Toyota project this year to encourage people to use the resources of the city to enjoy our historical, cultural, artistic, and sporting heritage. The aim of these classes is to give a further boost to the We Love Toyota project by harnessing the strengths of our local universities and companies. I hope that these classes will help motivate kids to turn their dreams into reality."

Comment from Saburo Kawabuchi, honorary president of JFA

"In my role as Chairman of Tokyo Metropolitan University, I have worked on joint projects involving the academic, public, and private sectors. These projects were difficult to pull off and did not always produce the desired results. As a representative of football in Japan, I am delighted to see how successfully these organizations have come together for this project. This is the first cooperation between the academic, public, and private sectors based on the JFA's Kokoro Project, and I hope that it will help the project grow and diversify."

Comment from Hitoshi Yasumura, Vice-President of Chukyo University

"Chukyo University was founded with the aim of providing excellence in both learning and sports. In this spirit, we established four key principles for the university: play by the rules, do your best, promote teamwork, and respect your opponent. We want to see the children that are the foundation of the future grow up to pursue their dreams tenaciously. We are fully behind the aim of this project: to nurture both the minds and bodies of children. It will also provide an excellent opportunity for our athletes to return to the origins of their own dreams through teaching. It should help both the teachers and the children to grow."

Comment from Akio Toyoda, president of Toyota

"Toyota has been involved in sports since its foundation. Throughout our history we have confronted and overcome major challenges and, since becoming president, I have also faced many difficult situations. During those times, I took courage and strength of spirit from sports and from Toyota's sports teams. Sports can bring a smile to the faces of people throughout the world.

Through this project, we want to demonstrate the joy of sports and the importance of pursuing a dream and having hope for the future. There is no greater pleasure than to bring a smile to the face of a child."