On Haikyu!! Day in 2025 (August 19), two new characters were appointed as Sendai Tourism Ambassadors.

Haikyu!!, which has many fans both in Japan and overseas, is a popular manga about Japanese high school volleyball. Sendai is one of its settings, realistically depicted with actual gymnasiums where the protagonists and rivals played fierce matches, captivating fans continuously.

This year, on Haikyu!! Day (August 19), the characters Tōru Oikawa and Hajime Iwaizumi were appointed as Sendai Tourism Ambassadors. To commemorate this, an unveiling ceremony for a monument featuring the two characters was held on August 14. The dynamic illustration, capturing Oikawa the setter setting the ball... was a special drawing by the author, Haruichi Furudate.

The ceremony was attended by the Mayor of Sendai, the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Shueisha's Weekly Shonen Jump, and others. The monument was installed next to the main entrance of Motoyama Seisakusho Aoba Arena (Aoba Gymnasium). The location was apparently chosen due to the connection with "Aoba" from the name of the high school they attended (Aoba Johsai High School).

The appointments make them the fifth and sixth characters from Haikyu!! to become Sendai Tourism Ambassadors, following Shōyō Hinata, Tobio Kageyama, Kei Tsukishima, and Tadashi Yamaguchi.