Lapasset, who is also the chairman of Rugby World Cup Limited (RCWL), and the rest of the IRB delegation will meet with key stakeholders involved in the tournament as rugby's showpiece event gets set to take place in Asia for the first time.

The meetings involving the IRB, tournament organisers Japan Rugby 2019, the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU) and officials from the Japanese Government will focus on key areas, including venue and operational planning, marketing and promotions, commercial and broadcast and growing the rugby market.

Also on the agenda will be the strengthening of partnerships between the key stakeholders involved in helping to deliver the tournament including the Japanese Ministries of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology; the Japan Sports Council; Regional Councils and the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Organising Committee.

"Under the leadership of Mr Mori [Yoshiro – former Japanese Prime Minister and current JRFU President] and Mr Mitarai [Fujio - Japan 2019 President], Japan 2019 continues to advance at pace with operational planning on track," said Lapasset.

"This week, we have a packed agenda of important meetings that will guide and assess delivery and I am looking forward to meeting with key tournament stakeholders to assess operational planning.

"Japan 2019 represents an enormous opportunity to further the growth of rugby participation, profile and engagement throughout Japan, across Asia and indeed the world.

"We are encouraged by progress to date and look forward to continuing to work in full partnership to ensure the solid foundations are in place as we move into the delivery phase of this exciting project."

Japanese players will be mixing it with the world's best on home soil in 2019 ©AFP/Getty Images



Japan were awarded hosting rights for the 2019 Rugby World Cup by the IRB Council in 2009 and as part of its bidding process it promised to host some matches in Hong Kong and Singapore.

But authorities in Hong Kong and Singapore announced in 2011 that both would not be hosting matches, but it is unclear whether this still remains the case.