The Asian Rugby Football Union (ARFU) was founded in 1968. The 1st Asia Rugby Championship (ARC) was held as a league match with five nations participating (Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Thailand) at the Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Stadium in March 1969.
Japan won all games and became the first champion, which marked the full-scale start of Asian rugby. To advance on the international stage in order to compete with the former eight IRB nations (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France, New Zealand, Australia, and South Africa), Japan has the mission to take the lead in Asian rugby. Japan needs to reach the top 8 in the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in order to represent Asia and take the initiative in disseminating and strengthening rugby in the Asian regions.
Japan bid to host the 2011 RWC as the first Asian nation, but was not solely for the benefits of Japan. We believed that hosting the RWC in Asia is imperative in order to make rugby a worldwide sport. Here I would like to clearly mention that the ARFU and the ARC, which would serve as the foundation for making rugby worldwide, were established during this particular period of time.