The renowned coach of Aoyama University recently expressed his ambitious plan to establish a women's Ekiden team. As a longtime advocate of female athletes' empowerment, he views this as a step towards promoting gender equality in athletics. Although no specific timeline is mentioned, he showed optimism over garnering enough support from the school administration and athletic community. His vision includes nurturing a squad that could compete at national and eventually international levels, thus bringing further pride to Aoyama University.

Ekiden, a long-distance relay running sport, holds significant cultural importance in Japan as both a historical tradition and a popular public spectacle. The announcement of a women's team for such a prestigious institution like Aoyama University suggests a wider societal acknowledgement of women's capability in sports, signifying a step forward in gender equality in Japanese athletics.

Much like in the US or EU, gender equality in sports is a topic of major importance in Japan. However, Japan has been known to lag behind in certain respects - the creation of this women's Ekiden team can be seen as a move towards parity with these other regions where women's sports teams are more commonplace.