was a Japanese

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

player and manager. He played for Japan national team as a forward. He also managed Japan's national team.

Biography

Okano coached the Japan national team from 1961 to 1971, becoming the manager for the 1970-1971 season. From 1998 to 2002 he served as the president of the

Japan Football Association The Japan Football Association (JFA, ) is the Sport governing body, governing body responsible for the administration of Association football, football, futsal, beach soccer and Esports, efootball in Japan. It is responsible for the Japan national ...

. Okano was a member of the

International Olympic Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; , CIO) is the international, non-governmental, sports governing body of the modern Olympic Games. Founded in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin and Demetrios Vikelas, it is based i ...

(IOC) from 1990 to 2012, becoming an honorary member in 2012.

Playing career

Okano was born in Taito, Tokyo on August 28, 1931.International Mr Shun-ichiro Okano
olympic.org His parents ran a well-established confectionery shop in Tokyo’s Ueno district. During the war his family escaped from the American air raids to

Gunma Prefecture is a landlocked Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located in the Kantō region of Honshu. Gunma Prefecture has a population of 1,937,626 (1 October 2019) and has a geographic area of . Gunma Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture and Fuk ...

, but Okano stayed to attend a high school. In April 1949 he enrolled to the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

and joined a football club there. In 1953 his team won the first national university championships. In 1955, he was selected Japan national team. He played 2 games for Japan in 1955.Japan National Football Team Database
/ref>

Coaching career

200px, Manager Ken Naganuma (left) and coach Dettmar Cramer (right)">Dettmar_Cramer.html" ;"title="Ken Naganuma (left) and coach Dettmar Cramer">Ken Naganuma (left) and coach Dettmar Cramer (right) In March 1957, Okano graduated in psychology from the Faculty of Letters, and in early 1961 spent three months in West Germany to train as a football coach. Upon return he was appointed as a Japan national team coach under manager Ken Naganuma, he also served as an interpreter for German coach Dettmar Cramer. In Football at the 1968 Summer Olympics, 1968 Summer Olympics, Japan won the bronze medals. In 2018, this team was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. In 1970, he was promoted to the manager as successor Naganuma. He managed at 1970 Asian Games. However, at 1972 Summer Olympics qualification in 1971, following Japan's failure to qualify for

1972 Summer Olympics The 1972 Summer Olympics (), officially known as the Games of the XX Olympiad () and officially branded as Munich 1972 (; ), were an international multi-sport event held in Munich, West Germany, from 26 August to 11 September 1972. It was the ...

, Okano resigned. In October 1974 he joined the

(JFA). Soon after that he became executive director of the

Japanese Olympic Committee The is the National Olympic Committee in Japan for the Olympic Games movement, based in Tokyo, Japan. It is a non-profit organisation that selects teams and raises funds to send Japanese competitors to Olympic events organised by the Internati ...

(JOC); in 1977 he was appointed as its general secretary and in 1989 as its executive director. In September 1990 he became a member of the IOC, and in 1995 of the FIFA Olympic Tournaments' Organizing Committee. He also served as 9th president of JFA (1998-2002) and 1st president of

East Asian Football Federation The East Asian Football Federation (EAFF), founded on 28 May 2002, is an international governing body of association football, football in East Asia. Presidents Member associations EAFF has 10 member associations. All of them are members of th ...

(2004-2006). In 2005, Okano was selected Japan Football Hall of Fame. Okano died from

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

on 2 February 2017 at a

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

hospital. He was 85.

National team statistics

Honour

* Blue Ribbon Medal of Honour (1990) * IOC Silver Pin (1998) * Blue Dragon Award (South Korea) (2003) * The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (2004) * Japan Football Hall of Fame (2005) * Honorary member of the

(2012 - 2017)

References

External links

*
Japan National Football Team Database
at

Japan Football Hall of Fame
(Japan team at 1968 Olympics) at

{{DEFAULTSORT:Okano, Shunichiro 1931 births 2017 deaths University of Tokyo alumni Association football people from Tokyo Japanese men's footballers Japan men's international footballers Japanese football managers Japan national football team managers Japanese International Olympic Committee members People from Taitō Recipients of the Order of the Rising Sun, 3rd class Men's association football forwards Deaths from lung cancer in Japan 20th-century Japanese sportsmen