Building a New Model for Cross-Border Alliances, Connecting a New Era of Asian Volleyball

In the inaugural year of the Taiwan Professional Volleyball League (TPVL), TAIPEI EAST POWER opens another new chapter: on August 1 the club officially announced a strategic partnership with the Tokyo Great Bears, a powerhouse of Japan's SV.LEAGUE. The two sides will cooperate in depth across team operations, coach and player exchanges, co-branding, and fan engagement, creating a new model for cross-border volleyball exchange.

At today's partnership press conference, the Tokyo Great Bears were represented in person by Japanese internationals YANAGIDA Masahiro and OTAKE Issei, who appeared on stage together with TAIPEI EAST POWER captain KAO Wei-Cheng and popular player TSENG Hsiang-Ming. The full TAIPEI EAST POWER squad also attended in formation, showing how highly both sides value this partnership.

Technical Ties and Cross-Sector Branding to Expand the Map of Asian Volleyball

This partnership covers six core areas:
• Technical exchange: the two coaching staffs and players will visit each other regularly to share training methods and tactical applications, strengthening both teams.
• International competition cooperation: planning cross-border exhibition events to raise the overall competitive level of Asian volleyball.
• Home game and fan culture exchange: learning from each other's home game operations and fan engagement practices to grow the audience for volleyball in Asia together.
• Joint digital content: producing dedicated documentaries and jointly running YouTube and Instagram channels to tell both teams' stories and reach a wider audience.
• Brand events and commercial cooperation: launching co-branded merchandise and holding brand days and joint events to expand sponsorship value and cross-sector resources.
• Fan travel and cheer squad exchange: arranging mutual fan visits for games and cultural experiences, creating a dedicated platform for fan exchange.

From Taipei to Tokyo, Connecting Belief and Passion

In recent years the Tokyo Great Bears have actively promoted international exchange, signing partnerships with Italian professional clubs and holding overseas training camps, making them a pioneer of internationalization in Asian volleyball. For EAST POWER, a newcomer to professional volleyball, this partnership is a connection that crosses borders, and it also marks an upgrade of the club's commitment to its city, its fans, and to winning.

Captain KAO Wei-Cheng said: "The Tokyo Great Bears are a team we deeply respect, and the SVL (Japan's league) is the most intense volleyball stage in Asia. This partnership is a rare learning opportunity for us, and we hope to move toward the international stage side by side with them."

About the Tokyo Great Bears

The Tokyo Great Bears were founded in June 2022, when NatureLab took over the FC Tokyo volleyball team through a full transfer of the club, and they are one of the professional volleyball teams in Japan's V.LEAGUE.

The team's name comes from the constellation Ursa Major, symbolizing the Big Dipper formed by seven stars (the players and the fans) linked to one another, and through volleyball becoming an important bridge that connects people, communities, and the world.

About TAIPEI EAST POWER

TAIPEI EAST POWER traces its origins to the EAST POWER Volleyball Training Camp founded in 2021, which was dedicated to developing a new generation of volleyball players. In the fall of 2025 it officially joined the Taiwan Professional Volleyball League (TPVL) representing Taipei City, becoming one of the league's founding clubs.

The home arena is in Taipei City, and its team colors are black, orange, and white.