Adidas Japan K.K. and Waseda University said Thursday they have agreed to form a comprehensive tieup in the sports business, the first alliance of its kind in Japan between a corporation and a university.
The alliance will cover mainly three areas -- sports promotion, academic research, and development of licensed products -- with a view to developing sports as a whole, they said in a news release.
Adidas Japan is the Japanese unit of German sportswear manufacturer Adidas-Salomon AG.
In the academic field, Adidas Japan and Waseda will jointly develop sports-related products and conduct medical research.
Adidas said it aims to focus on "the college brand business."