KUMAMOTO (Kyodo) Kotobukiya Co., the largest supermarket chain operator in Kyushu, said Friday it will disband all four sports teams at the end of next March as part of the company's restructuring effort.
Kumamoto-based Kotobukiya, established in 1949, has decided to shut down its table tennis, women's athletics, women's kyudo (Japanese archery) and sumo teams run by the name of La La La. Kotobukiya's table tennis team features Seiko Iseki, a naturalized player who won the men's doubles gold medal for China at the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
He will soon begin searching for a team to join individually. Meanwhile, Kotobukiya is looking for a club to accept all members of its women's athletics team, including Aki Fujikawa who placed eighth in last year's Nagoya International Women's Marathon.