Kubota Spears Rugby Team

The Kubota Spears rugby team, which belongs to the Japan Rugby Top League, the premier rugby league in Japan, aims to be a strong, well-loved team, and conducts social contribution activities linked to the SDGs in its hometown of Funabashi in Chiba Prefecture, among other various areas.

The Kubota Spears adopted a team vision Proud Billboard: aiming to be a strong, well-loved team, worthily embodying stakeholder pride. To realize this team vision, team members and athletes endeavor both to win matches, and through their social contribution activities, to become a valuable presence for the local community and residents.

Kubota Spears social contribution activities are primarily carried out in Funabashi, which was declared its hometown in 2017, in Edogawa Ward in Tokyo, and Narita City in Chiba Prefecture, where a partnership agreement was signed in 2020, among various other areas including the Kansai region where the Kubota Head Office is located. All athletes attend sessions on SDGs at Kubota, and before taking part in an activity they are aware of which SDGs their social contribution activity promotes.

The following are examples of the wide range of social contribution activities Kubota Spears embraces.

As its name indicates, Tambo Rugby is an event for local residents to enjoy playing rugby in tambo rice paddies before rice has been transplanted. As an activity to cheer up the community, the first event was held in 2015 by rugby fans and local farmers in Fukuchiyama City in Kyoto Prefecture, which had been severely damaged by a typhoon, and it is now played throughout Japan.

Because of its connections with Kubota's business areas, the fields of food, water, and the environment, Kubota Spears continues to play Tambo Rugby throughout Japan, contributing to the spread of rugby and the revitalization of local communities.

In 2019, athletes held an experiential class in Itami City in Osaka Prefecture so that children who had become interested in rugby when the Rugby World Cup was held in Japan could try the game of rugby.

This event, which attracted about 500 participants, included hands-on activities such as passing, kicking, and tackling, as well as a tug-of-war to physically sense the size and strength of rugby athletes. Children who had never before played rugby were able to feel rugby’s appeal and the joy of physical movement.

With the aims of contributing to the wholesome development of children with disabilities and revealing how appealing and impressive rugby is, interactive rugby events were held at Chiba Prefectural Ichihara Special Support School in 2019 and again at the same school and at Tamagawa School for Special Needs Education in Osaka Prefecture in 2020.

At the Ichihara Special Support School interactive events, participating athletes and team staff members shared the fun of rugby through passing, tackling, and tag rugby, which is a non-contact game. And, a former Kubota Spears team member who is now employed at Kubota Works Corporation, which promotes employment of people with disabilities and has been hiring graduates from the school, participated in the interactive event held at Tamagawa School for Special Needs Education. As we mobilize the strength not only of current athletes and staff members but also of former team members, we will continue contributing to the wholesome development of all young people with the intention of leaving no one behind, as is pledged in the SDGs.

Kubota Spears will continue to contribute to the local community and to make every effort to become a team that is well-loved by all stakeholders.