MOL Holds In-house Hands-on Wheelchair Rugby Experience Session with Team 'AXE'
- Making Diversity and Teamwork a Strength for the Company -

July 24, 2023

TOKYO-Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL; President & CEO: Takeshi Hashimoto) today announced that on Tuesday, July 18, it invited players and staff of the AXE (Note 1) wheelchair rugby team for in-house "Wheelchair Rugby Hands-on Experience" session.

MOL employee Kae Kurahashi(Note 2) is an AXE team member, and about 50 MOL Group employees gathered at the hands-on experience session, which was their first opportunity to directly interact with the team members. Participants got tips from players as they tried tackling (Note 3) in real competition wheelchairs, provided with the cooperation of the Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation (JWRF) (Note 4), and experienced the appeal of wheelchair rugby through an exercise similar to "tag," in which multiple participants chase after a single player to stop him or her from moving. After the session, MOL staff enjoyed a social event with players. Chatting with the team members, MOL employees gained a deeper understanding of the finer points of wheelchair rugby, and gained insight from the para-athletes on competition and everyday life.

Wheelchair rugby is a sport in which players with different degrees of disabilities compete on the same court and improve their team strength by combining the individual strengths exhibited in their respective roles, making this sport is the very embodiment of diversity.

The experience session provided an opportunity for the MOL Group employees to discover the excitement of wheelchair rugby and gain a new appreciation of the power of diversity and teamwork.

MOL will continue to contribute to the further development of wheelchair rugby in the future, and through the creation of an environment in which diverse MOL Group employees from around the world can exercise their abilities and create new value in a rewarding work environment. The company aims to create a workplace in which all of employees can work together to achieve their full potential.

A game of tag

(Note 1) MOL has been an official supporter of the AXE wheelchair rugby team since fiscal year 2022.
April 21, 2022, press release: MOL Signs Official Sponsorship Deal with AXE, a Wheelchair Team to which a MOL Employee Belongs

(Note 2) Please visit the Kae Kurahashi official website, too.

(Note 3) Wheelchair rugby is a team sport for wheelchair players with limb disabilities, and is the only Para sport in which wheelchair players are allowed to collide (tackle) with each other.

(Note 4) Since April 2018, MOL has been an official partner of the Japan Wheelchair Rugby Federation (JWRF) 
August 15, 2018, press release: Japan's National Wheelchair Rugby Team Captures 1st Title in GIO 2018 IWRF World Championship - MOL Employee Is a Member -