The Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU; , Nihon Ragubi- Futtobo-ru Kyo-kai) is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan national team. The JRFU is currently one of only two federations from outside the Six Nations and The Rugby Championship with a seat on the executive council of World Rugby, the sport's international governing body (the other is Rugby Canada). Former Japanese prime minister Yoshirō Mori served as the JRFU's current president until 2015, when Tadashi Okamura took over the position. Historical background Rugby union was first introduced to Japanese students at Keio University in Japan by Professor Edward Bramwell Clarke (who was born in Yokohama) and Tanaka Ginnosuke, both graduates of Cambridge University, in 1899. It had been played at the treaty ports (Kobe and Yokohama especially) before that, between teams of long-term foreign residents and visiting ships' crews, garrisons etc. Tournaments and leagues sponsored International IRB TOSHIBA Junior World Championship 2009 Sanix World Rugby Youth Invitational Tournament Domestic Top League Microsoft Cup All-Japan Rugby Football Championship University championship rugby National High School Rugby Tournament Rugby World Cup 2011 bid With Japan's advantages of a superb infrastructure (stadiums, accommodation and transportation) and the experience of co-staging the Football World Cup 2002 with Korea, the JRFU bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2011. The bid's catchphrase or slogan was "Making Rugby a Truly Global Sport". So far the Rugby World Cup has never been held outside the traditional rugby strongholds of the Northern and Southern hemisphere (the countries involved in the Six Nations and Tri-Nations tournaments). In that sense, the slogan was a justified attempt to grow the game worldwide, and make it a global sport. The JRFU gave the following reasons for holding the Rugby World Cup in Japan at a press conference held on 22 September 2004: 1. Rugby was introduced in Japan in 1899, and has a proud history, culture and tradition developed over the past 105 years. Japan is the leading Asian rugby country, and the focal point of rugby in the region. 2. Japan is the only Union in Asia that has participated in the last five Rugby World Cups. 3. Japan has the 4th largest number of registered rugby union players in the world (125,508), behind only England, South Africa and France. 4. Japan offers significant commercial opportunities through established