The 2019 Rugby World Cup will take place across the East Asian nation, while the Kansai region is due to host the 2021 World Masters Games.

The events will come a year either side of Japan's capital staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The agreement will see organisers share their experiences preparing for and managing major sporting events, covering areas such as marketing, public relations and volunteer recruitment and training programmes, aiming to ensure the success of the three events.

Through the hosting of these events over three consecutive years, the organisers also aim to give a boost to sporting and cultural activities in Japan, spur the economy and help build a society which promotes the active engagement of all citizens in sport.

A signing ceremony to mark the inauguration of the agreement was held today.

It was attended by Tokyo 2020 chief executive Toshirō Mutō, 2019 Rugby World Cup counterpart Akira Shimazu and Kansai 2021 secretary general Hiroo Kinoshita.

"I am delighted that we three major sporting event organisers have concluded this partnership agreement - it will allow us to maximise the opportunities provided by Japan’s hosting of these world-class sporting events over three consecutive years," Mutō said.

"Through the sharing of knowledge and through working closely together to ensure the success of all three events, we hope to leave a legacy for future generations, such as greater public participation in sporting activities."

Shimazu added: "Three major events will be held in Japan over a span of three years - the Rugby World Cup in 2019, the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Tokyo in 2020 and the World Masters Games in the Kansai region in 2021.

"With so many sports events taking place in this three-year period, it will in essence be the 'golden years of sports'.

"The Kansai World Masters Games 2021 Organising Committee will be joining the collaboration agreement that our organisation has with the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee and we believe this will help further maximise the benefits for the respective events in areas such as communications, promotional activities, volunteers, preparations for the tournament and operations."

The Kansai region was awarded the 2021 World Masters Games in April 2014, following an announcement by the International Masters Games Association at its General Assembly in Belek in Turkey.

Kinoshita spoke of his excitement about the conclusion of the agreement between the Games' Organising Committee, the 2019 Rugby World Cup and Tokyo 2020.

"This three-way cooperation will allow the World Masters Games 2021 Kansai to inherit and develop the legacy bequeathed by the other two competitions, and we will make every effort to make all three events a great success," he said.

"We believe that the power of sport will help energise Japan as a whole, and we hope to allow a sporting culture to develop across Japan."

A similar agreement, described as a "landmark collaboration", was signed by Tokyo 2020 and the 2019 Rugby World Cup in April of this year.

That will see officials share their experiences in terms of preparing for and managing major sporting events, including security measures, transport infrastructure, venue management, volunteer programmes and anti-doping programmes.