Team Japan wants to use Daegu as a steppingstone for London.
With the 2011 IAAF World Athletics Championships set to begin on Aug. 27 in the South Korean city, the Japanese representatives assembled at a Tokyo hotel for a team-forming ceremony on Friday afternoon.
"I would like you to make this opportunity a firm step toward London for next year," Seiko Hashimoto, a Japan Olympic Committee board member told the athletes from the podium. "I know all of you are used to other people's high expectations, but I hope that you have high expectations for yourselves."