Rochdale shirts presented to local government officials in Tokyo

Vice Governor of Miyagi with the Rochdale AFC shirt

John Rooney, Assistant Director at Rochdale Borough Council, recently returned from a study tour in Japan.

The tour focussed on the role of national, regional and local government in Japan, and the recovery and regeneration work that has taken place since the 2011 earthquake and tsunami which devastated large areas of north eastern Japan and was funded by Mr Rooney and the Japan Local Government Centre.

Rochdale AFC donated four shirts from last season which Mr Rooney presented to local government officials in Tokyo and Miyagi Prefecture, on the North East coast, including the Vice Governor of Miyagi and the Mayor of Onagawa.

Mr Rooney said: “It was an incredible learning experience and good to understand the challenges that the local people have faced.

“The Rochdale shirts went down really well with all the officials and there are now definitely a few more Rochdale fans in Japan.

“The Mayor of Onagawa, Mr Suda is a real hero, who is leading the recovery of his town which was destroyed in 2011, so he truly deserved the Number 1 shirt.”