TOKYO: US sports goods giant Nike Inc., together with tennis star Naomi Osaka, has launched “Play Academy with Naomi Osaka,” an initiative aimed at increasing girls’ participation in sports.

In the project, funds and opportunities for seminars on gender equality will be offered to a Japan-based organization. Laureus Sport for Good, a foundation engaged in social contribution activities, is also involved in the initiative.

“Through Play Academy, I hope to help girls realize their potential through the joy of play and sport,” Osaka said in a statement released on Tuesday. “They can be the roles models for future generations to follow.”

According to Laureus, Japan has some of the highest global rates of girls dropping out of sport, at more than twice the rate of boys, by the age of 15.

“I believe in the power of sport to create bigger change, and I’m passionate about inspiring the next generation of female athletes,” Osaka said.

The two-time Grand Slam champion was born to a Haitian-American father and a Japanese mother in the western Japan city of Osaka and was raised in the United States.

JIJI Press