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NEW DELHI \u2013 For a country where baseball reigns supreme and cricket barely registers on the sporting radar, Japan \u200bis about to host a fortnight of sport unlike any other in its history.<\/strong><\/p>\n Some of the biggest names in world cricket, including powerhouse \u200cIndia, are set to descend on Japanese soil next week and transform a nation known for staging the odd regional qualifier into an unlikely hub of top-tier cricket.<\/p>\n The unprecedented stretch of high-level cricket is the result of diplomatic manoeuvring, corporate sponsorship and years of quiet groundwork by the Japan Cricket Association (JCA), which has been helping the sport take root in the country.<\/p>\n The JCA \u200bpulled off a major coup when it persuaded men\u2019s Twenty20 world champions India to play the home side in Sano on September 22, marking \u200bthe first time associate member Japan will face an International Cricket Council (ICC) full member.<\/p>\n Former world champions Pakistan and Sri Lanka, along \u2060with fellow test-playing nations Bangladesh and Afghanistan, will also be in action at a repurposed baseball venue in Nisshin in September when the Asian Games cricket competition \u200bbegins.<\/p>\n \u2018A NEW ERA\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n JCA Chief Executive Naoki Alex Miyaji is excited at the prospect, while remaining clear-eyed about the limits of what two weeks of cricket can achieve.<\/p>\n Japan \u200bhas only 7,300 registered players and 16 cricket grounds. The women\u2019s T20 team are ranked 39th in the world, two rungs above the men\u2019s side.<\/p>\n \u201cOne match or competition itself won\u2019t change anything, and we are certainly not going to think that suddenly it\u2019s going to be as popular as baseball or football in Japan,\u201d Miyaji told Reuters.<\/p>\n \u201cBut the match against India is the \u200bfirst page of a new era.\u201d<\/p>\n The JCA had been working for more than a year to persuade its Indian counterpart, the BCCI, to play a T20 International \u200bin Sano. Those efforts gained momentum in recent months when the Japanese government got involved.<\/p>\n On a visit to India earlier this year, Japan\u2019s Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi gifted his Indian \u200ccounterpart Subrahmanyam \u2060Jaishankar a cricket jersey supplied by the JCA.<\/p>\n Jaishankar reciprocated with a bat signed by Indian cricketers.<\/p>\n Japan\u2019s Prime Minister Sanae Takachi then met with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi in New Delhi in July, and the two leaders agreed to mark the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries with a cricket match, dubbed the Suzuka Cup.<\/p>\n \u201cWith the government involvement and keenness to use cricket as sports diplomacy, we were able to go to the Indian board and offer this opportunity to \u200btrain and play a T20 International in \u200bSano,\u201d Miyaji said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had the Japanese \u2060embassy in New Delhi seeking our support for cricket diplomacy. They understand cricket is a big thing in India, and how they can use cricket to build friendships between the two countries.\u201d<\/p>\n \u2018TIME TO FLOURISH\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n It also helped to have the backing of \u200ba major Japanese sponsor, Suzuki, whose vehicles have dominated Indian roads for over four decades.<\/p>\n \u201cTo be able to have a \u200bcricket tournament that Suzuki \u2060is fully behind \u2014 that gives out a message to the Japanese community that this is a sport that Suzuki is backing, so it must be significant,\u201d said Miyaji.<\/p>\n The JCA had offered the Sano International Cricket Ground as a venue for the Asian Games competition but local organisers opted to re-purpose a baseball stadium on the outskirts of Nagoya \u2060to avoid \u200blogistical issues.<\/p>\n The JCA has still been able to offer Asian Games organisers valuable support thanks to \u200bits relationship with Sri Lanka Cricket, a partnership forged through sports diplomacy nearly three years ago.<\/p>\n A Sri Lankan curator is currently overseeing pitch preparations in Nisshin for the Games.<\/p>\n After years of working behind \u200bthe scenes, the JCA hopes to start reaping the rewards of those efforts.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to flourish,\u201d Miyaji said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n