Kawagoe, Saitama Pref. ¨C In 1995, Nobuko Hirayama inherited her father¡¯s membership at one of Japan¡¯s most exclusive country clubs. It took another 23 years and a looming Olympics before she could play golf there on Sundays, however.
Today, Hirayama is one of just a dozen women among the 1,200 full members at the Kasumigaseki Country Club just outside Tokyo, the venue for men and women¡¯s golf at this year¡¯s Games.
The 92-year-old club, where then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe played with former U.S. President Donald Trump on its rolling fairways in 2017, is long a province of the elite.
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