Hiroyuki Kokubu, Representative Director of Japan Volleyball League General Incorporated Association, Advisor to All Nippon Airways Trading Co., Ltd.

Aiming for the world's best: Creating the future of volleyball together with the local community

Representative Director of Japan Volleyball League General Incorporated Association Advisor to All Nippon Airways Trading Co., Ltd.　Hiroyuki Kokubun(Kunibu Hiroyuki)

■ Profile
"Human resource development" and "volleyball" are the two pillars of my career. In volleyball, I have a wide range of experience, from player to coach to manager to league and association official.
In order to strengthen these two pillars, I value curiosity and practice, and strive to have as many diverse experiences as possible. I also actively go to watch other sports, various concerts, Kabuki, art galleries, and museums.

Volleyball has become increasingly popular in recent years thanks to the success of "Haikyu!!", the Paris Olympics and idol-like players. Kokubun Hiroyuki has been involved in volleyball for over 50 years and is currently active as the representative director of the Japan Volleyball League, a general incorporated association. We spoke to Kokubun, who is devoting his energy to creating the world's top league.

■ How I met volleyball and my current job

I first encountered volleyball when I was in the fifth grade of elementary school, when my physical education teacher invited me to play. Even when I went to junior high school, there was a volleyball club, so I continued to play. I was thrilled when the men's team won the Munich Olympics in my second year of junior high school. I continued to be involved with volleyball throughout my university years, playing as a player and coaching at high school. After that, influenced by my university seminar, I joined ANA, and when I was assigned to Haneda Airport, there was a volleyball club at a level that competed in national tournaments, so I joined and practiced about three times a week. I also had the opportunity to coach at one point, but eventually retired as a player at the age of 55.

■ In order to expand the league, we focused on "expanding what's good"

Since becoming Representative Director, I have been conscious of how to bring together the 57 teams and the three leagues to which they belong. Although the V.League has potential, ranking 4th in the world for men and 6th for women, it is still a developing league, said to be two laps behind the J.League and one lap behind the B.League. In terms of attendance, while it was around 4000 to 5000 during Kawai Shunichi's time, it has now stagnated at around 2000. In order to become the world's top league, I would like to gradually increase this number.
One of the things we devised when building the team and organization was to pay particular attention to uniting the team's will and instilling a philosophy. Regarding unity of will, we thoroughly built the team by "making the most of the team's strengths and overlooking their weaknesses, and making sure we all share the same goal for each game." Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, and the beauty of volleyball is that it is an organized sport of six people, so each individual can complement each other and make the most of their potential.
Similarly, with six people, there will be times when the team does not agree on the same goal. Therefore, by dividing the team into periods such as each game or season, and aligning everyone's sense of purpose as the core of their thinking, it becomes possible for the team to approach a match as one.
What's important is to spread the philosophy that will become the fundamental code of conduct. There are three main steps to this. First, get people to "sympathize." When creating a philosophy, it's essential to think about it with the premise that people will empathize, and to get them to empathize wholeheartedly. Next, get people to "understand." What does it mean, what is its original purpose, and what is the background? Once people understand this, the final step is to connect it to "their own actions." Only after these three steps can the philosophy be incorporated into each individual thing.
This is also true in corporate organizations.

■ What is important about working that I have come to realize through my work

I have some thoughts about the "career path" that you decide upon when thinking about your life. People often say that career paths are "a matter of chance," but it's fun to draw your own path. On the other hand, if you focus on what you're given and give it your all, "chance" can sometimes become "inevitable." There may be many different career paths or things you want to do, but first and foremost, you should work hard at the job you've been given, the job in front of you. This will open up new paths and worlds for you.

■Our goal is to develop the V.League into the world's best league

Our goal is to make the V.League the world's top league by 2030. Ideally, we would like to raise the men's level to rival Italy and Poland, and the women's to rival Turkey. However, there are still many areas in the Tohoku, Chugoku, and Shikoku regions that do not have any participating clubs, and even prefectures with strong high schools and corporate teams find it difficult to establish a V.League club without a parent company. For this reason, we are looking to build strong ties with the local community and turn it into a club, in a positive sense. A good example of this is the Okayama Sea Girls. Although they do not have a parent company, the club survives thanks to the support of the local community. In this way, we hope to create a team that is loved and supported by the local community.
Recently, with the return of Takahashi Ai to Japan, volleyball fever has been on the rise, and tickets for the spring high school volleyball tournament are becoming increasingly difficult to obtain. I feel that this will be an opportunity to change the flow surrounding volleyball.

■Message to students

I would encourage you to invest your time and money to experience firsthand the best. Especially in today's world, where information is easily accessible through devices like smartphones and PCs, it is ultimately virtual information. It is important to experience the "real thing." For example, in Kyoto there is a package that allows you to learn around eight traditional Japanese performing arts for 5000 yen for 60 minutes. One way to do this is to visit art galleries and museums, or join a fan club. You cannot become first-class without being exposed to the best. I strongly recommend that you experience as many top-class performers in the "real world" as possible, evenly distributed across a variety of fields.

Yuya Takahashi, 4th year student at Takasaki City University of Economics

Kyoto University of the Arts, 1st year student Inomoto Reina / Sophia University, 3rd year student Amie Hinata / Musashino University, 4th year student Nishiyama Ryusei / Kokugakuin University, 2nd year student Teranishi Shion / Takasaki City University of Economics, 4th year student Takahashi Yuya