Malawi’s first Olympic & Africa Day Celebrations Event (held by a preparatory committee consisting of the Malawi Olympic Committee, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, and the Malawi Sports Council) saw participation from Japan sponsors (Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha, Inc. /Sotokoto). As part of the “Sport for Tomorrow” initiative, this center supported the event and also held a reception for the Malawi Government, sporting representatives, sponsors, and athletic groups on the evening of the celebration, and served as a venue on the day to reflect on the event and to promote exchange between the various participants. On the day of the event Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha, Inc./Sotokoto held a Fun-Run and a programme for people with an impairment in which the Sydney Olympics Women’s Marathon gold medalist Naoko Takahashi also participated. In addition, in the full marathon and tournament, 800 m and 1,500 m races were held for athletes with an impairment as well as a 5,000 m race for juniors and veterans, and athletes participated from Malawi and four other countries (Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe and Botswana). The event was also attended by sports representatives from COSANOC and the AU Sports Council Region 5.

This event was a first in and of itself, and as an international sports tournament hosted by Malawi, hence the preparatory works for the tournament and the collaborative works between the hosts and sponsors were problematic. Despite this, the event was a great success. Runners in the Fun-Run comprised of around 300 pupils from local Elementary and Junior-High Schools, sports representatives and Japanese residents, including Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers, ran the 6 km course through Lilongwe City as fast as they could. Ambassador Nishioka, volunteers from the center, Minister of Youth and Sports  Development Chiumia, and Minister of Sports Chitotera from Zambia also participated in the event. Likewise, the sponsors Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha, Inc./Sotokoto gathered together students from vocational school in Lilongwe City and hosted a programme for people with an impairment. Its appeal supporting sport for people with an impairment sports, an area that has not received a great deal of focus to date, was very well received by Minister of Youth and Sports Development, the Paralympic Committee, and regional sports representatives. Mitsubishi Corporation and Kirakusha, Inc./Sotokoto also cooperated with JICA in the region to donate shoes from Japan with Naoko Takahashi to the Home of Hope orphanage in the rural district of Mchinji. The Smile Africa Project which had previously been conducted in Kenya, was conducted in Malawi for the first time.