2019 Rugby World Cup and nearby Shikoku Island. No city in the latter region were venues for games in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, but Hiroshima did host games in the 2006 FIBA World Championship. On 17 July 2015, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced that plans to build the new National Stadium would be scrapped and rebid on amid public discontent over the stadium's building costs. As a result, the new stadium would not be ready until the 2020 Summer Olympics. World Rugby released a statement saying that they were extremely disappointed by the announcement "despite repeated assurances to contrary from the Japan
Shinnosuke Abe Shinnosuke Abe In the 2009 Japan Series, won by Abe's Giants 4 games to 2 over the Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, he was named the Most Valuable Player. In 2012, after hitting .340 with 27 home runs and 104 RBIs, Abe was named the Central League Most Valuable Player. In addition, Abe was the co-recipient (along with teammate Tatsunori Hara) of the 20112 Matsutaro Shoriki Award. He was the captain of Japanese national team in 2013 WBC, and hit 2 home runs in the same inning against the Netherlands, becoming the first and only player to achieve such a feat in