Track athletes from South Sudan have been training in the city of Maebashi since November 2019 to prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics. The city decided to play host to the athletes in response to a request from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, or JICA. Due to the long civil war in the country, South Sudan lacks adequate training facilities. People in Maebashi are also helping the athletes by raising funds through crowdfunding and by selling goods like T-shirts. The city says it hopes its host town experience will encourage more local people to become involved in international exchanges in the future.