The Commissioner General of the Czech participation Ondřej Soška visited Japan on business from 10-19 June 2023. He was part of the delegation of the Deputy Prime Minister for Digitalisation and Minister for Regional Development Ivan Bartoš (Piráti) together with entrepreneurs, university representatives and the Confederation of Industry and Transport.
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On Tuesday, 13 June 2023, Soška and Minister Bartoš visited the Japanese Minister for EXPO 2025 Naoki Okada. Together they discussed, for example, the upcoming EXPO World Expo, the state of preparations for Czech participation and the revitalisation of the regions. Minister Okada praised the winning design of the Czech pavilion by Apropos Architects, Tereza Šváchová and Nikoleta Slováková in the shape of a glass spiral. Commissioner Soška also presented Minister Okada with a rare gift, a baseball jersey bearing the number 2025 (the year of the EXPO) and the name Okada signed by Czech baseball players.
Baseball enjoys considerable popularity in Japan, and the Czech national team's outstanding performance in the World Baseball Classic held in Japan in March this year earned them considerable support and appreciation from the home fans for their great performance in the fierce competition. This is not only because Czech baseball players do not play this sport for a living, but they also devote themselves to it in their free time, unlike other professional athletes. Czech baseball players played Group B in Tokyo, where they beat China and played solid games against the Japanese champions, Korea and Australia. The World Baseball Classic is one of the two most important international baseball tournaments.
The signed jersey of the Czech baseball players made the mayor of Osaka, Hideyuki Yokoyama, a big baseball fan himself, extremely happy. The Commissioner General met with him on Wednesday 14 June 2023 and together they discussed the state of preparations for the Czech participation and the pavilion itself.
