Analysis of Public Opinion in Japan and theSingapore on Issues of Fairness andIntegrity in Sport

March 2018
(FY2017)
Copyright©JAPAN Anti-Doping Agency | All Rights Reserved.

Table of Content
0. Executive Summary…

1

1. Survey Overview…

10

2. Survey Analysis…

13

3. Analysis of Fairness in Sport…

53Appendix…

62

0. Executive Summary
According to the surveys conducted on fairness and integrity in sport in Japanand Singapore, Japanese and Singaporean respondents had similar values ofassessing fairness in sport. The most heavily weighed values are good sport ethicsand equal conditions for athletes. The next heavily weighed value was different
between the two countries. They were values of relationship with other humans(Japan) and your own beliefs (Singapore).
What actions go against the fairness of sport was also perceived similar among
the two countries. Taking illegal substances (doping), whether you know theopponents had done the same or not, is considered by far the most unfair act insport by respondents in both countries. The results from the analysis lead us tobelieve that doping poses a strong perception of unfairness in sport regardless ofnationality, race, culture, gender, age or level of participation in sport.
Furthermore, when the respondents were specifically asked for their opinion ondoping, results from both countries showed that doping is perceived as an act
against the spirit of fair play in sport.
The differences in perception between the two countries were found when therespondents were asked for opinions on more general context of sport. More
Japanese respondents found promoting health and developing strong body asimportant values in sport, whereas Singaporean respondents found more values infair play/sportsmanship and teamwork/friendship. For Japanese respondents, thisresult was consistent to what they most commonly expressed as their motives toplay sport, which are health/fitness and need for more exercise. On the other
hand, the results from Singaporean respondents showed differences in theirvalues in sport and motives to play sport; fair play/sportsmanship andteamwork/friendship were the most strongly supported values in sport, while themost commonly expressed motives to play sport were health/fitness and need formore exercise. Japanese respondents seem to perceive values in sport throughthe lens of ‘player’ from their own experience of performing physical activities,
while Singaporean respondents are likely to perceive values in sport from lenses
other than their own experience of sport participation.
Difference between the two countries were also found in expectations for top
national athletes. Japanese respondents gave the most weight to performance
whereas Singaporean respondents gave the most weight to respect for justice and1

fair play as important requirements for top athletes. This result implies thatathletes, who represent the country to play ‘sport’ are expected to have qualities
to meet the most important values in sport perceive by respondents in respective
countries. In both countries, top national athletes are likely portrait as someone,
who demonstrate the values in sport for the people in the country they represent.
Further analysis was conducted to compare opinions of respondents between‘supporter of fair play and sportsmanship’ (who identified fair play andsportsmanship as one of the values in sport) and the rest of respondents.
Consistent to the earlier finding, there was nearly twice as much ratio of‘supporter of fair play and sportsmanship’ among Singaporean respondents thanthat of Japanese respondents. The result showed not only that ‘supporter of fairplay and sportsmanship’ perceived different topics in sport more unfair than therest of respondents, more of them also identified respect for justice and fair play
as one the requirements for top athletes. The analysis implies that respondents,
who identified fair play and sportsmanship as one the important values in sport
have higher standard for ‘fairness’ and expectations for top athletes to respectjustice and fair play.

2