"Cricket has an interesting position to present to the Organising Committee, to say that if you actually struggling for sponsorship, having cricket on board should help you, it is probably the most attractive sport for sponsors in the Asian Games," Miyaji told insidethegames.

Aichi-Nagoya has reportedly suffered from the fallout of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bribery scandals.

"If we can have the Asian Games played in Japan and successfully host a major tournament like that, that would open doors for us to be hosting other international tournaments," Miyaji continued.

"Our first priority is to try and make sure that cricket is played at the Asian Games."

Cricket returns to the Asian Games programme in Hangzhou this September for the first time since the Incheon 2014 edition.

The Japanese men are set to take part for the first time after reaching the International Cricket Council (ICC) T20 World Cup East Asia Qualifier in Papua New Guinea.

One team from the competition will advance to the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, which is scheduled for the West Indies and Japan in June 2024.

Previously Japan had only sent a women’s cricket team to the Asian Games, but they won bronze at the 2010 edition in Guangzhou after defeating China by seven wickets in the bronze medal match.

"The Asian Games is a great event for us because it is a multi-sport event and it gets coverage that other ICC tournaments never get," Miyaji added.

"One of the strengths of our national men’s team over the last five years is that we’ve got players coming from the under-19 programme."

Many of the squad had taken part in the 2020 ICC Under-19 World Cup in South Africa.

Miyaji also pointed to the success of Naomi Osaka in tennis and the Japanese Rugby Union side as templates for the JCA.

Japan hosted the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2019 and won all their pool matches to reach the quarter-finals.

"It helps give people an understanding of what can be done," Miyaji explained.

Although Japan took part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, their victory over Zimbabwe in 1991 was their only win until they shocked South Africa in their opening match of the 2015 tournament.

"Where Japan rugby was not being able to win a match in the Rugby World Cup for how many years, look at them now, that is the example that we can show people, now there is no reason we can’t do that," Miyaji added.

Cricket is one of nine sports which will be considered by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for inclusion at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics at the IOC Session in Mumbai this October.

"If cricket gets into the Los Angeles Olympics, then that would definitely be a push for the Asian Games to include cricket," Miyaji predicted.