Japan's Rugby World Cup -- the first to be held in Asia -- aims to launch the niche sport into the region's multibillion-dollar market. © Kyodo

Japan's 'epoch-making' Rugby World Cup: false dawn or breakout moment?

To enter the big leagues, game seeks to untangle itself from Japan Inc ownership

ANDREW SHARP, Nikkei Asian Review deputy politics & economy news editor, and ERI SUGIURA, Nikkei staff writer

September 4, 2019 14:23 JST

TOKYO -- It is two months before the rugby season begins, but on a recent Sunday morning at a high school sports ground in central Tokyo, close to 120 children, most of them elementary school students, practiced passing and tackling drills in the summer heat.