For other uses of "Mikasa", see
Mikasa
.
Mikasa Corporation
(
株式?社 ミカサ
,
Kabushiki Kaisha
Mikasa
)
is a Japanese
sports equipment
and athletic goods
company
with its international corporate headquarters located in
Nishi-ku
,
Hiroshima
,
Ch?goku
.
[2]
[3]
Specializing in equipment for
ball games
, the balls manufactured by Mikasa for sports
football
,
Korfball
,
basketball
,
volleyball
,
waterpolo
and
handball
are often used for official
matches
,
games
and
competitions
.
Most notably, Mikasa volleyballs are the official balls for all
Federation Internationale de Volleyball
(International Volleyball Federation) worldwide competitions, and numerous domestic leagues outside of North America.
[4]
Mikasa volleyballs are the official ball for the
Olympics
. Presently clubs, regions, high schools, colleges, and tournaments throughout the
U.S.
use Mikasa volleyballs.
History
[
edit
]
Mikasa was founded in 1917 as the Hiroshima Gomu Corporation. The company began its life producing many different types of rubber products, such as
flip-flops
and dodgeballs. It began using the Mikasa brand name on its sports products in 1935, and in the early 1940s was consolidated with a number of rival rubber companies. Following World War II, the company grew rapidly: Mikasa volleyballs made their Olympic debut at the
1964 Tokyo Olympics
, and in the 1970s the company began to expand globally.
[5]
Since 1980, Mikasa has also produced the official Olympic
water polo
ball.
[6]
In the 2000s, Mikasa was faced with allegations of labor violations in some factories in
Thailand
. The
ITUC
published a report alleging anti-labor campaigns by company management.
[7]
The report detailed allegations of unethical labor practices such as the penalization of union leaders and labor organizers via discriminatory transfers and unjust disciplinary procedures.
[7]
The ITUC argued that Mikasa succeeded in either forcing the resignation of most of the factory's union committee in an affront to the right of its employees to organize. The Thai Labor Campaign alleged that new Mikasa factory workers received only 173
baht
per day. (equivalent to
$
4.36 per day in 2006)
[8]
Products
[
edit
]
Mikasa makes many different types of balls, including goods for
basketball
,
beach
and
indoor
volleyball,
football
,
rugby union
,
waterpolo
,
korfball
,
American football
and
rugby football
. (The last two are available solely in the
United States
)
[9]
Mikasa has been the official ball provider for the following leagues and associations, in addition to having exclusive agreements with some prominent athletes:
Volleyball
[
edit
]
Athletes
[
edit
]
Clubs
[
edit
]
Sunspark SC 2026/27
Federations
[
edit
]
National teams
[
edit
]
Waterpolo
[
edit
]
Soccer [Soccer]
Independiete Medellin [Independiete Medellin]
Glory SC [Glory SC]
Sunspark SC [Sunspark SC]
Gallery
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Bibliography
[
edit
]
- Michigan High School Athletic Association Bulletin
, Volume 70, Michigan High School Athletic Association, 1993, University of Michigan, p. 464.
- Gay and lesbian tourism: the essential guide for marketing
, Jeff Guaracino, p. 146.
- Sports sponsor factbook
, Team Marketing Report, Inc., 1999, p. 623.
- Japanese multinationals, facts & figures
, T?y? Keizai Shinp?sha, 2007, p. 268.
- American Commercial Inc. d/b/a Mikasa and Mikasa Licensing, Inc. v. Sports and Leisure International d/b/a Mikasa Sports, Civil Action No. 96?713LHM (U.S.D.C. C.D. Cal.).
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
"Company profile"
.
Archived
from the original on 2021-10-10
. Retrieved
2011-10-18
.
- ^
"
Company Profile
Archived
2013-08-21 at the
Wayback Machine
." Mikasa Sports. Retrieved on September 9, 2012. "11-2, 3-chome, Kusunoki-cho, Nishi-ku Hiroshima 733-0002, Japan"
- ^
"
?社?要
Archived
2013-10-04 at the
Wayback Machine
." Mikasa Sports. Retrieved on September 9, 2013. "所在地 ?島市西?楠木町3丁目11番2?"
- ^
"Mikasa Sports USA"
.
Mikasa Sports USA
.
Archived
from the original on 2022-10-25
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
- ^
"History"
.
Mikasa Sports
.
Archived
from the original on 15 August 2021
. Retrieved
15 August
2021
.
- ^
"Volleyball (On the Sand and In the Gym)"
.
Popular Science
. 2008-08-14.
Archived
from the original on 2022-10-26
. Retrieved
2022-10-26
.
- ^
a
b
2007 Annual Survey of violations of trade union rights - Thailand: Violations in 2006, International Trade Union Confederation, 2007,
survey07.ituc-csi.org
Archived
2011-07-26 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
The Life of Football Factory Workers in Thailand, Junya Lek Yimprasert, Thai Labor Campaign, June 30, 2006,
PDF from CleanClothes
Archived
2010-06-13 at the
Wayback Machine
- ^
"Mikasa Sports USA - Products manufactured"
. Archived from
the original
on July 14, 2011.
- ^
"New sponsorship contract between MIKASA Corporation and Marta Menegatti"
. Mikasa Sports. February 7, 2014. Archived from
the original
on November 2, 2019
. Retrieved
October 18,
2017
.
- ^
"Mikasa Signs Beach Volleyball Phenom Sara Hughes"
. Mikasa Sports. June 26, 2017. Archived from
the original
on November 2, 2019
. Retrieved
October 18,
2017
.
External links
[
edit
]