Nagoya, Japan, September 19, 2024: Sports leaders from the Olympic Council of Asia and Japan held a minute’s silence to honour former OCA Executive Board member Yuko Arakida, who passed away this week at the age of 70.
Arakida won Olympic gold with the Japanese women’s volleyball team at Montreal 1976 and was a respected and influential leader with the Japanese Olympic Committee, Tokyo 2020 organising committee, Japan Volleyball Association and the International Volleyball Federation.
With the OCA, Arakida was Chair of the OCA Athletes’ Committee and a champion of gender equity for athletes and administrators.
The Vice Chair of the OCA Coordination Committee for the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya-Aichi in 2026, Mr. Tayyab Ikram, described Arakida as a “dear friend”.
“I worked with her for many, many years. Yuko was a very active and very strong sports leader. She was very dear to all of the Olympic family of Asia.”
The Vice President of the Japanese Olympic Committee, Yuko Mitsuya, who was also an Olympic volleyball player, also expressed her condolences.
“She worked hard for the Japanese Olympic Committee and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and guided me in many areas,” she said.
Arakida, known popularly as “Yu san”, rose to vice president of the Tokyo 2020 organising committee with a specific focus on the elevation of women to executive positions.
The OCA is visiting Nagoya for the second Coordination Committee for the 20th Asian Games and the minute’s silence was held before the start of the meeting.