Methodology and Detailed Findings

The purpose of this report card is to show thecurrent state of and the determinants of physicalactivity and health in Japanese children andadolescents under 18 years old. Nationally
representative Japanese data were used: this is anational report card. Grades were determined using
the international method as follows.
The card grades are determined by the percentage of Japanesechildren and adolescents meeting the benchmark for each indicator.

The detailed methodology and detailed ﬁndings of this reportcard (data and references etc.) are available on our website(www.activekids.jp). An academic publication based on the 2016 Japan
Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth is published in theJournal of Physical Activity and Health.

Next Steps
This is the ﬁrst version of the Japan Report Card on Physical Activity forChildren and Youth. We are planning to publish it subsequently to monitorchanges to each grade, in 2018, and after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic andParalympic Games. To do so, we need further funding and are seeking
partnerships with individuals or organizations who might consider providing
ﬁnancial or other support. Please contact the Active Healthy Kids Japan
Group (info@activekids.jp) for further information.

are succeeding with a large majority ofA Wechildren and adolescents (81-100%)are succeeding with well over half of children
B We
and adolescents (61-80%)
are succeeding with about half of our children
C We
and adolescents (41-60%)
are succeeding with less than half children andD We
adolescents (21-40%)
are succeeding with very few children andF We
adolescents (0-20%)

Acknowledgements

data combined with lack of an
INC Incomplete
evidence-based recommendation.

The Cover of the 2016 Japan Report Card81-100%61-80%

41-60%

21-40%

This card was produced with funding from the project research of JapaneseSociety of Physical Fitness and Sports Medicine in 2015 (2015-2017: ChiakiTanaka, Shigeru Inoue, Motohiko Miyachi, Koya Suzuki, Takafumi Abe:
Physical education and Medical Research Center UNNAN, Shigeho Tanaka),
and with research supports from the J. F. Oberlin University and the Instituteof Health and Sports Science & Medicine, the Juntendo University, and wasa partnership between the J. F. Oberlin University (Dr. Chiaki Tanaka), theNational Institutes of Biomedical Innovation, Health and Nutrition (Dr.
Shigeho Tanaka, Dr. Motohiko Miyachi), the Tokyo Medical University (Prof.
Shigeru Inoue), the Juntendo University (Dr. Koya Suzuki), and the Universityof Strathclyde (Prof. John J Reilly).

0-20%

Table 1. Grades According to Physical Activity Indicatorin the 2016 Japan Report Card on Physical
Activity for Children and YouthIndicator

Grades

1. Overall Physical Activity Levels ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ INC
2. Organized Sport Participation ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・C

A stated aim of physical education (PE) of the national educational
curriculum guideline is to improve physical ﬁtness and to promote a positive
attitude toward exercise as a lifelong physical activity. However, as the coverof the 2016 Japan Report Card suggests, students donʼt move continuously
during PE class, because they have to sit or stand during their teacherʼsinstruction and/or while waiting their turn. It is also worth noting that arecent systematic review of the moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA)
content of school PE globally suggested that a minority of time in PE classes
was spent in MVPA (Hollis et al.2016).

o do !
nt toI wa that tomIt'sy turn !

3. Active Play・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・ INC
4. Active Transportation ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・B
5. Sedentary Behaviours ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・C
6. Physical Fitness ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・C
7. Weight Status ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・A
8. Family and Peer Inﬂuence ・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・D

J.F.Oberlin University

National Institutes of Biomedical Innovation,
Health and Nutrition

桜美林大学

国立研究開発法人 医薬基盤・健康・栄養研究所国立健康・栄養研究所

Tokyo Medical University

Juntendo University

9. School・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・・B
10. Community and the Built Environment ・・・・・・D
11. Government Strategies and Investments ・・・B
The grades illustrate the state of physical activity inJapanese children and adolescents. The report card
can be utilized as information to support policy
development in physical activity for children andadolescents, families, schools, local communities andthe country as a whole.

東京医科大学

順天堂大学?
txens'taWh

The 2016 Japan Report Card on Physical Activity for Children and Youth

5Sedentary Behaviours
Physical Activity,
Health Behaviours
and Outcomes

1Overall Physical Activity Levels

There are no representative Japanese data forphysical activity in under 15-year-olds. The National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey reported
step counts for 15-19 year olds. In males, the data
showed a marked decrease for severalyears. On the other hand, the trend infemales generally continues to be ﬂat. However, data
havenʼt been reported since 2012.

INC

2Organized Sport Participation

Participation in sport was reported for 27-92% of 6to 17-year-olds by the Report of Survey on PhysicalStrength and Athletic Performance of Japan Sports
Agency (2015). The prevalence at 4-5 years
old was reported at 29% in 2015 according
to the Sasakawa sports foundation (SSF)
41-60%
National Sports-Life Survey of Children.

C3Active PlayC

6 Physical Fitness

CThe Report of Survey on PhysicalStrength and Athletic Performance
41-60%of the Japan Sports Agency (2015)
comprehensively evaluated physical ﬁtness by
5 gender- and age-speciﬁc ranks (A-E). The
percentage of A and B rank among Japanese
6- to 17-year-olds was 42-67%. The physical ﬁtness test datasuggest that currently physical ﬁtness levels in children andadolescents are lower than that in the 1980s.

7Weight Status
The School Health Survey data (2015) by the Ministryof Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology (MEXT) reported that 2.24-11.34% of
5-17 year old Japanese boys and girls were obese.
Overall, however, the levels are highcompared to the 1980s. On the other hand,the percentage of underweight children was 0.40-4.33%.
81-100%

INC

B

The 2015 SSF National Sports-Life Survey
61-80%of Children reported that 28% of Japanesepreschool children (4-5 years old) regularly commuted
actively (walking) to school. The 2015 SSF NationalSports-Life Survey of Young People reported that
93% of Japanese elementary school children (6-11years old) regularly commuted actively(walking or cycling) to school, and 88% ofjunior high school students (12-14 years old)and 68% of high school students (15-17years old) regularly commuted actively.

Settings and Influenceson Physical Activity
and Health

8Family and Peer Influence

D9School

The MEXT sets the educational curriculum
guidelines for all primary and secondary
schools including the content of physicaleducation, the number of physicaleducation classes, and guidelines for school
infrastructure and equipment ministry. The guidelines
for nursery schools and centers for early childhood education and careare set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the Cabinet
Ofﬁce. Those guidelines require physical activity during childcare foryoung children. However, physical education in primary schools or active
play in nursery schools or kindergartens isn't carried out by
specialist course teachers who have studied physicaleducation. Also, in primary schools, physical education
61-80%classes are the only classes that don't use textbooks.

BA

There are no representative Japanesedata for active and outdoor play.
There are no Japanese
government
recommendations for activeand outdoor play.

4Active Transportation

The Report of National Survey on Physical Fitness,
Athletic Performance and Exercise Habits of the JapanSports Agency (2015) reported that 71-76% of grade 5Japanese primary school children and second year injunior high school children spent more than 1 hour per
day of watching TV, videos or DVDs viewing (Notplaying video games). In addition, 30-60% reported 1 hour per dayplaying video games (PCs, portable electronic devices having a game
function, cellular or smart phones). The 2015 SSF NationalSports-Life Survey of Young People reported that 31% ofJapanese preschool children (4-5 years old) spent more
41-60%
than 2 hour per day of screen time (watching TV, PCs etc.).

over 1 year was reported by 31% of males and 25% of females.
In grade 5 Japanese primary school students and second year
junior high school students, the percentage of participation in
sport or exercise with a guardian more than once per week was
7-36% by the Report of Survey on Physical Strength and Athletic
Performance of Japan Sports Agency (2015). The 2015 SSF
National Sports-Life Survey of Young People reported
that 72% of Japanese preschool children (4-5 years old)participated in exercise or sport with their parent “often”
21-40%or “sometimes”.

The National Health and National Survey (2014)
reported that daily step counts were 7,860 for males
aged 20 to 64 years old, and 6,794 for females,respectively. The prevalence of obesity in Japanese
adults was 29% in males and 21% in females which isbased on over 25㎏/m2 of BMI (body mass index).
Participation in sport twice or more a week, 30min or more per time

10Community and the Built Environment

Health Japan 21 (second term) by the Ministry ofHealth, Labour and Welfare reported that thenumber of local governments which addressed theneed to improve physical environment whereresidents can easily exercise and be physically active
stood at 17/47 prefectures (2012).
The 2015 SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People
reported that 48% of Japanese parents of 4-9 year oldchildren agreed they lived in neighborhoods that allow
children to engage into active outdoor play, exercise, or21-40%
participate in organized sports.

D11Government Strategies and Investments

There are many relevant laws and ordinances suchas The Basic Act on Sport, the Health Promotion
Law, the Basic Act on Food Education, and so on.
There are also strategies and policies in place likethe Sport Basic Plan，Health Japan 21 (secondterm)，and so on. Physical activity
guidelines are for preschool children, adults, and theelderly. However, national physical activity guidelines for
61-80%
children and adolescents (6-17 years) are not established.

B