A total of 37 students from the Jose Rios Middle School in the Oceanian island territory and the Setaka Junior High School in Miyama took part in the programme, which is the first in a series of planned events to promote sports and cultural exchange between the two schools.

The Guam National Olympic Committee designated its conference room for 23 students and four staff members from the Jose Rios Middle School to take part in the exchange.

Mike Kohn, the secretary general's executive assistant at ONOC, coordinated the event, which was opened by Osamu Ogata, the deputy consul-general from the Japanese Consulate in Guam.

Ogata urged those taking part to engage in discussions that would help consolidate the links between the two institutions.

The Fukuoka Prefecture also hosted pre-Tokyo 2020 training camps for athletes from the continent, and Kohn said the programme between the two schools represented a long-term benefit of the Memorandum of Understanding.

"We knew when we signed the Memorandum of Understanding in 2017, that the Tokyo Games would not be the 'finish line' for our established relationship, but rather the 'starting line' for future collaborations," he said.

Kohn thanked those who took part in the collaboration, adding: "Thank you to all of the students and teachers from Jose Rios and Setaka Junior High Schools for taking time out on Saturday to participate in this very meaningful event."

His comments were echoed by the project coordinator of Miyama City's Board of Education Kenjj Sakurai.

The project is open to other schools in Guam, who are encouraged to contact ONOC to express their interest.

Guam was represented by five athletes at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.