Nagoya hosted the 1971 World Table Tennis Championships associated with ping-pong diplomacy.
The 1971 World Championships were held in Nagoya, Japan. During the tournament, American player Glenn Cowan accepted a ride on the Chinese team bus, beginning a friendly exchange with Chinese players. The episode helped create an opening for renewed contacts between the United States and the People’s Republic of China.
The broader diplomatic process became known as ping-pong diplomacy. In April 1971, the United States table tennis team visited China, and US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s secret trip followed later that year. President Richard Nixon then visited China in 1972.
Nagoya was therefore important both as a sporting venue and as the setting for a famous international encounter. The term refers to table tennis diplomacy, not to a special table-tennis rule or tournament format.