Eight Soka University students and two alumni represented Japan at the 2022 ICU Asian Cheerleading Championships held on September 4th in Bangkok, Thailand.

In this tournament, a pair of Soka University alumni, Masaki Matsuo and Koichi Omoto participated in the "Hip-Hop Doubles". In addition to Mr. Matsuo and Mr. Omoto, Japan’s Team Cheer Hip Hop group included Manami Mori and Sakura Fujiura (4th year, Faculty of Letters), Fuzuki Kimura (3rd year, Faculty of Business Administration), Rena Arita (3rd year, Faculty of Education), Fuki Sato and Miyo Kitayama (2nd year, Faculty of Letters), Yoshihiko Niwa and Takeru Shibata (1st year, Faculty of Letters), Kohana Watanabe (1st year, Faculty of Education), and 18 other members from WORLDWINGS 2WDC. 

The ICU Asian Cheerleading Championships are hosted by ICU, the international governing body of the sport, to develop and promote cheerleading and performance cheer in the Asian region. This year 8 countries and regions participated in the ICU Asian Cheerleading Championships. In this year’s tournament, the pair of Matsuo and Omoto won first place (gold medal) in "Hip-Hop Doubles". In addition, in the "Team Cheer Hip Hop" event, the team fought hard to tie with the winning team but was awarded second place (silver medal) due to a rule’s decision.

Ms. Fujiura, who competed with "WORLDWINGS2WDC", said, "Despite the coronavirus pandemic, I am very grateful for the opportunity to represent Japan on the world stage with my teammates, and for all the people who supported us. This Asian Championship was the team's first overseas tour in three years. In the competition, we were able to put our heart and soul into our performance with no regrets, and as a result, we tied with Thailand for first place. Even though we were awarded a silver medal due to a rule’s decision, this silver medal is very valuable for us to further develop ourselves in the future. There were times when I myself struggled to balance practice, classes, and job hunting, but I was able to do my best with the support of my teammates and the joy of being able to show the world what we had created together during the past year and a half. I will make the most of this result and continue to strive to improve my dance to better deliver courage and hope to many people."