White Paper on Sportin Japan2020

First published 2020
by Sasakawa Sports Foundation
The Nippon Zaidan Bldg. 3F, 1-2-2 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0052, Japan
Copyright © 2020 by Sasakawa Sports Foundation
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced in any form orby any electronic, mechanical, or other means including photocopying and recording, orin any information storage, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Some part of this book was revised from the previous version published in 2017.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Nippon Foundation.

ISBN 978-4-915944-78-9

Contents
Chapter 1 Sport Policy
Ⅰ. The Acts on Sport
Ⅱ. Sport Administration System and the Sport Basic Plan
Ⅲ. Sport Budget
Ⅳ. Sport Integrity

1
6
14
16

Chapter 2 Sport Participation
Ⅰ. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Adult
Ⅱ. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Children and Young People
Ⅲ. Sport Facilities
Ⅳ. Sport Spectators
Ⅴ. Volunteering in Sport

26
36
39
43

Chapter 3 Disability SportⅠ. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by People with Disabilities
Ⅱ. Sport Facilities for People with Disabilities
Ⅲ. High Performance Measures for Paralympic Sport
Ⅳ. The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support Center

47
52
56
60

Chapter 4 Human Resources for Sport
Ⅰ. Professions in Sport
Ⅱ. Sport Instructors

62
67

19

Chapter 5 Sport Clubs
Ⅰ. Sport Club Memberships for Adults
Ⅱ. Participation in Sport Clubs and School Sport Clubs
by Children and Young People
Ⅲ. Private Fitness Clubs
Ⅳ. Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

76
83
86

Chapter 6 High Performance SportⅠ. Measures for High Performance Sport
Ⅱ. Sport Facilities for High Performance Sport

89
92

Column Sport for Tomorrow
List of Figures
List of Tables
Picture Credits

7298

Foreword
The activities of the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) are aimed
at creating a “Sport for Everyone society” in which everyone enjoys sports
in a manner that fits their own lifestyle and interests.
Sports not only have the power to maintain and improve mental andphysical health, but also the mysterious ability (value) to act as a universal
remedy that helps people grow and encourages the formation of society.
As we see changes in demographic movement that are unprecedented
anywhere in the world, Japan faces a variety of social issues. SSF is
working to utilize scientific investigation and research to convert thatmysterious ability into objective and easy-to-understand data and languageand develop projects and programs that help as many people as possible
enjoy their lives through sports, and projects and programs that help solve
social issues, among other things.
Last year, Rugby World Cup 2019 filled Japan with excitement, andwe saw an increase in interest not only in rugby, but in sports in general.
Then, just as that momentum was moving forward to the Tokyo Olympics/
Paralympics, and expectations were high for an increase in the number ofpeople participating in sports, the novel coronavirus began to spread, andwe were hit with the stagnation of social activity worldwide. In the “newnormal” (our new lifestyle under the coronavirus peril), socio-economic
activities continue to be limited, and our sports environment has also been
subject to enormous restrictions. SSF’s ingenuity and ability to take action
toward achieving a Sport for Everyone society are now being tested.
It is also likely that our battle against changes in the global
environment and the accompanying natural disasters and communicablediseases will continue as well. As we reflect on history, we see that wehave faced a variety of threats in the past as well. In 2011, following theaccident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station, there wereconcerns regarding the health of evacuees. These included the issue ofchildren getting insufficient physical exercise. However, many individuals
and organizations working together gradually reduced the problem.
It is impossible to eliminate all crises faced by the human race.
What is important is to establish a mobile system that makes it possible
for people to work together in such a manner at any time, and to spreadthat system throughout the world. SSF believes that difficulties are an
opportunity to do so, and we will focus even more effort on achieving asociety in which as many people as possible can enjoy the power of sports

and live healthy lives.
Fortunately, we have already built a broad network of personalconnections, and have a rich store of information and knowledge. We will
utilize, enhance, and expand these to move forward with convincing crossdisciplinary research based on the insights of both the social sciences andthe natural sciences, and return the findings to society as quickly as possible
through collaboration with a variety of individuals and organizations. Let
us do this to achieve a Sport for Everyone society which we aim at.
Finally, this book would not have been possible without thecontributions and support of our advisory board and authors. I would liketo thank them and acknowledge their outstanding work.
Kazutoshi Watanabe
President, Sasakawa Sports Foundation
December, 2020

Chief Editor
Kazutoshi Watanabe
President, Sasakawa Sports Foundation

Advisory Board for White Paper on SportThe Advisory Board made a full contribution in contents editing,writing articles and facilitating authors for the original White Paper on
Sport which was published in Japanese in March 2020.
Osamu Ebihara
Professor, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences,
Yokohama National University
Hidenobu Kanaya
Manager, Planning and Coordination Division General Administration
Department and Tokyo Olympic Paralympic Support Office,Japan Sport Association
Takeshi Kukidome, Ph.D
Director General, Japan Institute of Sport SciencesDepartment Director, Department of High Performance Sport Strategy
Japan High Performance Sport Center
Japan Sport Council
Professor, School of Letters, Senshu University
Satoru Kumagai
Executive Director, Sasakawa Sports Foundation
Yoshiyuki Mano, Ph.D
Professor, Faculty of Sport Sciences,
Waseda University
Miyako Tanaka-Oulevey
President, Polygone, Inc.


As of March, 2020

Sport Policy 1

Chapter 1
Sport Policy
I. The Acts on Sport
1. The Basic Act on SportIn June 2011, the Basic Act on Sport was enacted with thecomprehensive revision on the Sport Promotion Act for the first time in
50 years. The Act consists of 35 articles and supplementary provisions,and declares in the preamble that “Sport are a universally shared humanculture.” It defines sport as athletic competitions and other physicalactivities performed by individuals or groups for the purpose of “sounddevelopment of mind and body”, “retention and promotion of health andphysical strength”, “acquisition of mental satisfaction”, and “cultivationof the spirit of self-sufficiency or other mentalities”. Furthermore, the Act
defines sport as “crucial for citizens to lead a healthy and fulfilled life interms of mind and body throughout their lifetime”, and clearly states thatliving life happily and fruitfully through sport is the right of all citizens.
The Act also states that sport not only have an impact on individuals,
but can also develop a sense of unity or vitality of an area, and contributeto recovery of the regional society. It places an emphasis on theimportance of Japanese athletes achieving the great success in international
competitions. In addition, the Act identifies sport as a key element in the
improvement of the international status of Japan. It states that sport cancreate vitality in our society, contribute greatly to the development of thenational economy, and promote global mutual understanding throughinternational exchange, which will contribute greatly to international peace.
The major provisions of the Basic Act on Sport that have been
newly established or revised, are as follows:• Paragraph 5 of Article 2 (Basic Principles) prescribes the promotionof sport for people with disabilities, stating that “sport shall bepromoted with due consideration according to the type and degree of
disability so that persons with disabilities can play sport voluntarily
and proactively.” Articles 3 and 4 clarify the responsibilities of thenational government and local governments, respectively.
• Under Article 5, sport organizations must “protect the rights
and interests of those who play sport”, “ensure transparency of2 Sport Policy

management”, and “endeavor to resolve disputes concerning sport
in a prompt and appropriate manner.”• Under Article 9, the Act requires the Minister of Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT)
to formulate a “Sport Basic Plan”, and Article 10 requires local
governments to formulate a plan concerning the promotion of sport(a “local sport promotion plan”) making allowance for the Sport
Basic Plan and in the context of the actual situation in the area.
• The roles to be played by the sport industry are also definedin Article 18, mentioning the importance of coordination andcooperation between sport organizations and business operators fordissemination of sport and improvement at competition level.
• With regard to sport for people with disabilities, Article 26 statesthat in order to ensure the smooth holding and operation of the
National Sports Games for Persons with Disabilities, necessary
support should be provided to Japanese Para-Sports Associationand to the prefectures of the venue.
Furthermore, Article 2 of the supplementary provisions refers to theestablishment of a sports agency as the administrative organization thatcomprehensively promotes sports policies.
2. Sports Promotion Lottery Law

In 1998, in order to secure financial resources for sport promotion,
the “Act on Carrying Out, etc. Sports Promotion Vote” (commonly known
as the “Sports Promotion Lottery Law”) was enacted through legislation
drafted by the nonpartisan Federation of Diet Members for Sports. One of
the reasons for the enactment of this Act was the necessity for structuralreforms in the sport system.
Article 21 of the Act specified how lottery revenue should be used
and allocated to local government bodies and sport organizations. The
allocation of subsidies from the Sports Promotion Lottery is determinedin accordance with the “Basic Policies for Subsidies from the Sports
Promotion Lottery Profits” formulated by MEXT. An amount equivalent
to 50% of lottery ticket sales is used as prize money for winners, then two
thirds of the remaining profit (after deducting management expenses) isused as subsidies for the promotion of sport, while the remaining one thirdis paid to the national treasury.
In May 2013, the Act on the Sports Promotion Lottery was partiallyrevised to expand the type of football matches that could be bet on (which
had previously been limited to the Japan Professional Football League

Sport Policy 3“J. League”). The Act now allows betting on football matches that areheld by overseas professional leagues designated by MEXT such as the
English Premier League, and the matches which conform to the standards
specified by an ordinance of MEXT. A further revision in 2016 increased
the ratio of lottery profits that are used as subsidies for local governments
and sport organizations from one-third to three-eighths.
3. Act on the Japan Sport Council

Based on the “Act on the National Agency for the Advancementof Sports and Health (NAASH), Independent Administrative Agency”
promulgated in 2002, NAASH was established in October 2003. NAASH
succeeded to all activities previously allocated to the National Stadium
and the School Health Center of Japan, such as the administration ofschool lunches, school safety and the operation of the National Stadium.
In 2012, NAASH has changed its organization name to the Japan SportCouncil (JSC) and the Act above is thereby called the “Act on the JapanSport Council”.
This law defined the purpose of establishing the JSC and the rangeof its activities; it was revised in 2013 to allow up to 5% of sales proceedsfrom the Sports Promotion Lottery overseen by the JSC to be applied tothe costs of bidding on international sports events or to the maintenanceof sports facilities required to host them. This limit was increased to 10%
by a 2016 revision, and part of this is currently being used to develop the
New National Stadium.
4. Act on Special Measures for the 2019 Rugby World Cup

In July 2009, Japan was selected to host the 2019 Rugby World
Cup. In Addition to the event’s national significance as well as its close
connection to the preparation and management of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic
and Paralympic Games, the “Act on Special Measures for Rugby World
Cup 2019” were enacted in June 2015 to ensure that preparations for the
event would go well and that it would be run smoothly. These measures
include activities such as issuing charitable postcards and dispatching
government officials to the organizing committee. This Act was partiallyrevised in June 2018 to make the organizing committee exempt from theprovision of the Radio Act, which stipulate the fees for registering andoperating radio stations and applying for related permits.

4 Sport Policy
5. Act on Special Measures for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics andParalympics

In September 2013, Tokyo was successful in its bid to host the2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Considering the significant impact
hosting the Olympics will have on Japan, the “Act on Special Measures forthe 2020 Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics” were enacted in June 2015 toensure that preparations for the event would go smoothly. These measures
include activities such as issuing charitable postcards, dispatching
government officials to the organizing committee, establishing an Olympic
Promotion Office, and making government assets (the JGSDF Asaka
Exercise Area, Kokyogaien National Gardens, and Kitanomaru Garden)
freely available to use. As a result of the partial revision of the Act in June
2018, special exemptions were added to the Act on National Holidays for2020 only: the Marine Day observed annually on the third Monday in Julywas moved to July 23, the day prior to the Olympics opening ceremony;
the Sports Day observed on the second Monday in October was moved
to July 24, the day of the Olympics opening ceremony; and the MountainDay observed on August 11 was moved to August 10, after the Olympics
closing ceremony.
6. Act on the Promotion of Anti-Doping Activities in SportIn October 2018, the Act on the Promotion of Anti-Doping Activities
in Sport enters into force and is intended to boost future anti-doping activities
across the country. The Act was passed in accordance with the contentsof the Basic Act on Sport enacted in 2011 as well as the International
Convention against Doping in Sport adopted by the UNESCO in 2005.
The UNESCO convention, a global agreement between governments on
anti-doping activities, is the first shared international standards for antidoping. In addition to formulating basic principles related to anti-doping
activities and clarifying the role of the national government, the Act aims
to comprehensively promote anti-doping policies and contribute to thesound development of sport.
The Act is comprised of 16 total articles. The Article 3 establishes
fairness in sport as well as maintaining and improving the mental andphysical health of athletes as basic principles, stipulating that: (a) the
inspections conducted within anti-doping activities must be fair andtransparent; (b) anti-doping activities must be implemented in a way that
ensures the independence and autonomy of the organizations that manage
sport competitions; and (c) diversity in sport must be considered when
implementing anti-doping activities. Based on the basic principles statedSport Policy 5in the above article, the article 5 clarifies the responsibilities of the national
government with regard to formulating and implementing policies for antidoping activities. The article 6 defines the role of the Japan Sport Council(JSC) in anti-doping activities. The JSC coordinates with the JADA andserves as a central organization for anti-doping activities.

6 Sport Policy

II. Sport Administration System and the Sport
Basic Plan
1. Sport Administrative Organizations

The promotion of sports in postwar Japan has been led primarily
by administrative organizations such as MEXT (formerly the Ministry of
Education, Science and Culture) and the Boards of Education in each local
government as part of a larger educational administration system (Figure1-1). MEXT has been responsible for wide range of policies, including
those related to school sport and physical education, and activities of school
clubs as well as regional sport. They are also responsible for hosting andparticipating in international sport competitions such as the Olympics andParalympics and the FIFA World Cup and enhancing high performancesport.
Japan Sports Agency
Commissioner
Japan Sport Council

Council for Sport
7 Divisions

National Trainning
CenterJapan Institute of Sports
Sciences(JISS)

various sports organizations

Other Ministries
related to Sports

Nippon Junior HighSchool PhysicalCulture Association

All Japan HighSchool Athletic
Federation

Japan Sport
Association(JSPO)

Japanese Olympic
Committee(JOC)

National Recreation
Association ofJapan

The Nippon
Foundation
Paralympic
Support Center

Japanese Para-Sports
Association
Japanese Paralympic
Committee

sports promoting
foundations【Prefectures】

national governing
bodies of sports

Sports Dept.
Board of Educationprefectural
junior high school
physical culture
associations

prefectural
councils ofcommunity
sports leaders

prefectural
high school
athletic
federations（Welfare Dept.）prefectural sports
associations

prefectural sports
federations

prefecturalpara-sports
associations【Municipalities】
Sports Dept.
Board of Education（Welfare Dept.）

sportspromotingfoundations
local sports
associations

local sports
federations

local para-sports
associations
National
Federation ofCommunity Sport
Leaders

prefectural
councils ofcommunity sports
leaders

Community Sports
Leaders

Comprehensive
Community Sports Clubs

sports clubs andteams

Figure 1-1 Sport Administration Structure in Japan：affilated

Sport Policy 7

Professional sport are not under the direct jurisdiction of MEXT,
however, the Nippon Professional Baseball Organization (NPB), the Japan
Professional Football League (J. League), and the Japan ProfessionalSports Association were all once under the jurisdiction of MEXT andcarry the influence of its methods of sport administration. At present, due
to the reform of the public interest corporation system, these organizations
are administered by the Cabinet Office. Moreover, many industries
responsible for sport goods and equipment, leisure industries such as golfcourse, ski resorts and bowling alleys, and health service industries suchas fitness clubs are administered by Ministry of Economy, Trade, andIndustry (METI).
Furthermore, the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW)
administers several services including: businesses promoting health andphysical strength in municipalities; long-term care and preventive services
pursuant to the “Long-term Care Insurance Act”; events including the
National Health and Welfare Festival for the Elderly ; promotion of sportand physical activities from the perspectives of fitness, health and social
welfare. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism(MLIT) is responsible for the maintenance of sport facilities such as sport/
multipurpose parks used for the National Sports Festivals, and the Japan
Tourism Agency of MLIT is in charge of promoting sport tourism. As
is seen here, a large number of government offices are involved in the
promotion of sport.
Japan Sports Agency

Sport administration in Japan involves a large number of ministries
and government offices. In recent years, the expectation that a multitude
of benefits can be achieved through sport has led to the comprehensive
promotion of sport policies that span over several different fields, andthe sport administration is expected to increase the effectiveness of
those policies. In this context, “comprehensive review of the modalityof administrative organization for promotion of the measures concerning
sport” was stated in Article 2 under the supplementary provisions of the
Basic Act on Sport enacted in 2011. Moreover, in September 2013, Tokyo
was awarded to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo
2020), creating favorable conditions for the establishment of the JapanSports Agency (JSA) in October 2015.
The JSA was created by expanding MEXT’s Sports and YouthBureau into an external bureau and is led by a commissioner, a deputy
commissioner, a director-general, and a deputy director-general. The four

8 Sport Policy

divisions of the Sports and Youth Bureau were reorganized and expanded
into the JSA’s seven divisions (Figure 1-2). The number of personnel was
also increased from 76 to 121, with 23 of the staff members being seconded
from other ministries or government offices.
Division in Japan Sports Agency
1. Policy Division

Physical education and sports-club activities at schools are now
under the shared jurisdiction of the Elementary and Secondary Education
Bureau at MEXT and Policy Division’s Office for Physical Education at
JSA. Control of policies that were overseen by other government agencies
prior to the creation of the JSA have not yet been transferred to it. The
JSA has come to play a central role in sport administration as it works tocoordinate policies between the various ministries.
2. Sports for Health Division

The division was established for promoting health through sports by
utilizing expertise on preventative medicine when popularizing sports anddeveloping regional sports clubs. This division also promotes disability
sports through its Office for Promote Para-Sports (although authority wastransferred from the MHLW in 2014, prior to the creation of the JSA).
Minister of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT)

Commissioner for Japan Sport Agency

Policy Division
Office for Physical Ecucation

Sports for Health Division
Office for Promote Para - Sports

Competitive Sports DivisionInternational Affairs Division

Olympic and Paralympic Games Division

Community Development Division
Sport Organizations Support andPrivate-Sector Cooperation Division
Japan Sports Agency (2015)

Figure 1-2 Organization Chart of Japan Sports Agency

Sport Policy 9
3. Competitive Sports Division

The division is responsible for supporting and strengthening ofinternational competitiveness for Japanese athletes at the highest level ofinternational sporting events such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
4. International Affairs Division

Established as an expansion of the programs previously overseen by
the Competitive Sports Division, the newly created International Affairs
Division is responsible for international contribution via sport, as well asactive participation in the global sport world by training and dispatching
personnel.
5. Olympic and Paralympic Games Division

The Olympic and Paralympic Games Division was created toensure the success of Tokyo 2020 by coordinating with the various sportorganizations and promoting the Olympic Movement. This division willcease to exist once that event concludes.
6. Community Development Division

The Community Development Division was created to oversee thecreation of diverse locations where sport can be played and the vitalizationof communities through sport.
7. Sports Organizations Support and Private-Sector Cooperation Division

The Sports Organizations Support and Private-Sector Cooperation
Division was created to oversee areas such as the improvement of sportorganizations governance, training of sport personnel and coaches, supportof athlete career paths, and promotion of coordination with industry.
JSA Measures and the Sport Basic Plan

JSA measures are based on the Sport Basic Plan, which wasestablished in March 2012 by Article 9 of the Basic Act on Sport. This plan
indicates the fundamental course of action for sport policies over a tenyear period, starting from 2012, and contains a set of measures outlining
the systematic and comprehensive efforts for the first five years.
The Sport Basic Plan listed seven themes for the five-year period
from 2012–2016, striving to actively promote sport and make Japana Sport Nation. (a) Increasing sport opportunities for children; (b)Promotion of sport activities in line with the life stage; (c) Improvement ofcommunity sport environments where residents can actively participate;(d) Training human resources and developing the sport environments
in order to enhance international competitiveness; (e) Promotion ofinternational exchanges and contributions through bids for and hosting ofinternational competitions such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games;

10 Sport Policy(f) Improvement of the transparency and fairness/equity in the sport world;and (g) Creation of a virtuous cycle in the sport world. Within these sevenbroad themes, the plan had 19 narrower policies (e.g. promoting plans that
improve children’s physical fitness starting from early childhood,) whichcontain a total of 165 specific measures to be implemented.
In March 2017, the JSA had revised the Sport Basic Plan. The planfor the second five-year period beginning in April 2017 consist of four
core policy goals: (a) expanding the number of people who do, watch,and support sport as well as improving facilities and personnel training
to make that a reality; (b) using sport to create a vigorous society whose
people are connected by powerful bonds; (c) developing a strong andsustainable environment and training system that will improve international
competitiveness; and (d) raising the value of sport by promoting clean andfair sporting events. These four themes are similarly subdivided into 19
narrower policies which contain 139 specific measures to be implemented.
2. Major Sport Promotion Institutions in Japan

In addition to administrative organizations, a number of public
interest corporations such as the Japan Sport Council (JSC), the JapanSport Association (JSPO), the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) andthe National Recreation Association of Japan (NRAJ) play a significant
role in the promotion of sport. Their roles include enhancement of highperformance sport, provision of subsidies for promotional activities, anddevelopment of a better understanding of the value of sport.
The JSC strives to promote sport and improve physical health ofschool children through the following activities; management of sportfacilities such as the New National Stadium, conduct of various research
projects at the Japan High Performance Sport Center, support for sport
promotion through operation of the Sports Promotion Lottery, and paymentof necessary benefits in the case of accidents that occur to students under
the supervision of schools. The JSPO, JOC and NRAJ preside over various
sport associations such as sport organizations in the all 47 prefectures andare incorporated into the national administrative system which controls
sport policies. These policies concern issues such as the improvement ofJapan’s international high performance, the training of sport instructors,
and the development of regional sport clubs to enhance physical fitness
for children.
The Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA) was established in 2001
as an institution to promote, educate and coordinate anti-doping activities
in Japan. As a contracted party of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADASport Policy 11Code), JADA implements the Japan Anti-Doping Code which is consistent
with the WADA Code. The Japan Sports Arbitration Agency (JSAA)
also contributes to the promotion of sports through improving sports
environments, encouraging athletes to compete fairly with one anotherand through other awareness-raising activities.
3. Sport Administrative Organizations in Local Governments
Sport Administrative Organizations in Prefectures and Municipalities

Until recently, the regional boards of education were principally incharge of all duties involved in sport administration for each prefecture andmunicipality. This was due to Article 23, item 13 (Duties and Authority of
the Boards of Education) of the “Act on the Organization and Operationof Local Educational Administration” (hereinafter referred to as the“Local Educational Administration Act”), which stated that the boards ofeducation were to supervise and execute the operation of policies related
to sport. However, under Article 4 of the Basic Act on Sport, it is now
prescribed that “local governments are responsible for establishing andimplementing measures concerning sport which are appropriate to thecharacteristics of the area voluntarily and independently, while maintaining
coordination with the national government.” Furthermore, because of
the special provision added to the Local Educational Administration Act(Article 24-2, “Special Provision on Duties and Authority”) after its partial
revision in 2007, it has become possible for the heads of local publicbodies to supervise and administer affairs related to sport that had been
under the jurisdiction of the boards of education. As a result of this greater
flexibility, administrative affairs have been transferred from the boards ofeducation and been placed under the mayors or governors in many local
governments.
As of October 2019, 13 prefectures out of 47 have placed thesport administrative department within their board of education, while
34 have placed the department within the governor’s office. Among the
20 ordinance-designated cities1 in Japan, only two – Sagamihara andNagoya - place the sport administrative department within the boardsof education, while the remaining 17 place the department under thepurview of the governor. According to the Japan Sports Agency’s “Survey
on Local Sports Administration” (2017), of the 790 municipalities(excluding ordinance-designated cities) polled, 80.4% placed their sport
administrative department within the boards of education, while 19.6%
1 An ordinance-designated city is a Japanese city that has a population of greater than 500,000 and has been
designated as such by an order of the Cabinet. As of December 2020, there are 20 ordinance-designated cities.

12 Sport Policy

placed it within the municipality’s head office. Viewed in terms of
population, 84.0% of municipalities with at least 500,000 people placed
their sport administrative department within the head office, while only
2.3% of municipalities with less than 10,000 did so. Municipalities withsmaller populations are therefore more likely to place the departmentthat administers their sport within the boards of education, even after therevision of the Local Educational Administration Act.
By transferring authority of the sport administrative department
from the boards of education to the governor’s office, prefectures andmunicipalities are attempting to not only increase the efficiency of sportsrelated business, but also to improve coordination with other administrative
areas such as culture, tourism, social welfare, and community development.
Organized by the JSA, the Prefectural and Designated-City Sports
Administrators Conference held in January 2016 made it clear thatdepartments responsible for managing sport (excluding physical education
at schools) within municipalities—whether or not situated in boards ofeducation or governors’ offices—should utilize new methods such as
formulating fundamental principles, and hold comprehensive training
conferences to place their sports administration apparatuses squarely
within the basic policy framework established by their governors; thus,
enhancing the diverse merits of sports as defined in the Basic Act on Sport
within municipalities as well. It is essential that sports administration
departments coordinate their efforts closely with other departments, suchas those in charge of community development, park management, social
welfare, and health promotion.
Local Quasi-Government Corporations and Public Foundations
Related to Sports Promotion

In many prefectures and ordinance-designated cities, quasigovernment corporations and public interest corporations have been
established, playing a part in the promotion of sports and complementing
the work of local government related to sport. These extra-governmentorganizations usually receive financial assistance from the relevant
local government at the time of their establishment. However, howsuch organizations are funded and the amount or ratio of government
contribution varies depending on the organization. The establishment,
operation, budgetary and human resources, as well as financial audits andthe like, are prescribed by the “Local Autonomy Act.”
When the Local Autonomy Act was partially revised in September
2003, the management of public facilities (sport facilities, city parks,

Sport Policy 13

cultural centers, social welfare facilities, etc.) switched from the “Operation
Consignment System” to the “Designated Administration System”, which
was further enacted in September 2006. Under the former “Operation
Consignment System”, the management of public facilities was under
the direct control of the local government, or was consigned only tothose public foundations and corporations that were funded by the local
government. However, with the revised system, such work may now be
conducted either by the local government or by a designated administrator
who has been selected through public advertisement. Applicants may
include private businesses such as stock companies, public interest
corporations, NPOs and voluntary basis organizations.
Due to this revision, many quasi-government corporations or public
foundations that had been in operation primarily for the management
and operation of public sports facilities have been forced to review theirbusiness activities and organization structures. The number of prefecturescontaining quasi-government corporations or public foundations has beensteadily decreasing from 25 prefectures in 2000 to 23 prefectures in 2005,
and then to 18 prefectures in 2010 and 15 prefectures in 2019.
As of October 2019, eight of the 20 ordinance-designated cities havequasi-governmental corporations or public foundations. As with similar
entities at the prefectural level, these organizations have played a certain
role in the regional promotion of sports, although in some cases they havemerged with sport associations (Yokohama) or other quasi-governmental
corporations (Sapporo).

14 Sport Policy

III. Sport Budget
1. National Budget for Sport

Figure 1-3 illustrates the yearly changes in the budgets of Sports
and Youth Bureau at Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology: MEXT (which previously administered sports before theestablishment of the Japan Sports Agency in 2015) and JSA. The sportbudget for FY2002 was 12.2 billion yen, a number which increased to
16.8 billion yen in FY2004 due to a concerted effort to improve Japan’sinternational competitiveness for the Athens Olympics held that year.
Although the budget saw some marginal increases each year to FY2008,
a revision of the government curriculum guidelines in 2007 made theteaching of martial arts a requirement, leading to budgetary increases
related to the funding of martial arts halls for public junior high schools.
As a result, the sport budget for FY2009 ballooned to 22.5 billion yen,surpassing the twenty-billion-yen threshold. Following that, the budget
held mostly steady until FY2015, when the effects of Tokyo being selected
in September 2013 to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games(“Tokyo 2020”) prompted an increase to 28.9 billion yen and then a further
increase to 32.3 billion yen in FY2016, breaking thirty billion yen for the
first time. The budget showed a slight increase until FY2019 and reached
35 billion yen.
The chart also divides the sport budgets into four categories: “Lifelong sports”, “Physical Education at Schools”, “High Performance Sports”,
and “Other”. From the annual changes in how much percentage of theoverall budget was allocated to each of these four categories indicated in
Figure 1-3, “High Performance Sports” have been the greatest expendituresince FY2002, hovering around 70% since FY2010.
On the other hand, “Life-long sports” fell from a ratio of 20% in
FY2002 all the way to 7.2% by FY2010. Although the category saw someminor increases after that, it has remained limited to around 10%. As noted
above, the portion of the sports budget that went to “Physical Education at
Schools” increased to just under 30% in FY2009 due to funding for martial
arts halls at public junior high schools, although it subsequently declined
to 16.1% by the year FY2016. MEXT and JSA data published throughFY2015 indicated the specific numbers for each of these four categories,
but that feature was not present in the data since 2016.

8.1
17.8

2003

2002

73.3

12,905,802

8.0
20.9

70.3

12,238,813

2004

16.1

5.3

78.0

2005

2.3
16.9

80.2

16,819,827 16,401,272

2006

2.2
13.7

83.6

16,797,615

2007

1.8
10.8

86.8

2008

13.2

12.7

73.5

18,716,682 19,000,472

OtherHigh Performance Sports

2009

9.1

29.8

60.5

2011

8.9

23.3

67.8

2012

8.6

22.5

68.9

23,542,693

2013

13.1

21.8

65.0

24,327,849

2014

11.0

20.8

68.2

25,527,849

Figure 1-3 Trends in the National Sport Budget

7.2
2010

20.9

71.8

22,529,344 22,740,469 22,790,469

Physical Education at Schools

Life-long Sports* Percentage of “Other” in 2002 to 2014 are omitted as they were less than 1.0 percent.

05,000,000

10,000,000

15,000,000

20,000,000

25,000,000

30,000,000

35,000,000

40,000,000(In thousand of yen)

2015

9.9

18.1

70.0

2.0

28,976,254

2017

2018

33,989,139

2019

35,033,064(Year)MEXT (2015), Japan Sports Agency (2019)2016

32,360,310

33,393,116

Sport Policy 15

16 Sport Policy

IV. Sport Integrity
To protect the value of sport, in recent years there has been an
expansion both domestically and abroad of activities based on “integrity”
in response to various issues occurring in sport, such as doping, matchfixing, competition manipulation, violence, and governance deficiencies
within sport organizations.
1. Domestic Trends in Sport Integrity
All-Party Parliament Group for SportIn 2018, All-Party Parliament Group for Sport consisting of membersof the National Diet formed the “Project Team on Establishing Systems forSport Integrity” and issued its “Recommendations for Ensuring Integrity inSport.” In these recommendations, the group recognized that “despite theglobal movement toward ensuring integrity (honesty, prudence, and virtue)in sport, there has been an extremely troubling succession of scandals inJapan of late due to governance dysfunction within sport associations” andthat “maintaining sport integrity is an urgent issue that must be tackled by
the entire world of sport, now more than ever.”Japan Sports Agency

In response to the recommendations of the Sport ParliamentaryGroup, Japan Sports Agency formed a Sport Integrity Subcommittee
under the Sport Council in 2019. This subcommittee formulated the“Governance Code for National Sport Federation Members” to serve as amodel and set of guidelines for proper organizational management, withthe goal of helping sport organizations create their own standards to follow.
National Governing Bodies of sport are required to conduct assessments
every four years regarding their compliance with the governance code andpublish the results. Prior to this, in 2016, there were multiple incidents ofillegal gambling among professional baseball players and members of the
National badminton delegation. In response, JSC hosted the Conferenceon Thorough Compliance in the World of Sport in April 2016 together
with the Japanese Olympic Committee, the Japan Para-Sports Association,and the Japan Sports Association. Some of the suggested solutions at thisconference were “disseminating information,” “implementing training,”and “formulating a code of conduct and creating a consultation system.”
In addition, sport associations were asked to ensure sport integrity asorganizations.

Sport Policy 17
Japan Sport Council

As a result of the revision made in 2013 to the Act on the
National Agency for the Advancement of Sports and Health, the JapanSport Council, which coordinates and assists with national-government
initiatives as the country’s only independent administrative agency for
sport, added to its duties “those necessary for ensuring that sport activities
are conducted fairly and appropriately” and formed the Sports Integrity
Unit in April 2014. This unit has spearheaded the JSC’s efforts to protect
and enhance sport integrity within Japan. Specifically, it has focused on;(a) activities related to anti-doping, (b) activities related to governance andcompliance in sport, and (c) activities related to third-party consultationand investigation systems regarding violent behavior of sport coaches andsimilar matters.
2. Governance Code for National Sport Federation Members

Article 5 of the Basic Act on Sport enacted in 2011 requiresthat sport federations independently and appropriately manage theirorganizations, obligating them to “proactively pursue/engage in the
promotion of sport” and to “create standards to be followed by themselveswith regard to their business activities.” In recent years, however, a varietyof scandals have occurred due to governance dysfunction within national
federations, who are expected to be even more open and public than othersport associations. In particular, cases of sexual and power harassment
within national federations and other sport associations were reported
in 2018, causing quite a stir in the media. Although the circumstances
behind each scandal vary, the biggest cause is believed to be the fact thatmany individuals who operate such organizations are former athletes
who manage the organizations based on their sport experience, without
the flexibility to consider legal or financial aspects. As a result, theassignment of responsibility remains vague and aspects like expertise andcompliance awareness are not heavily pursued, leading to a large numberof problematic incidents.
Recognizing the need to ensure proper governance within sport
federations amidst these circumstances, the All-Party Parliament Groupfor Sport created a “Project Team on Establishing Systems for Sport
Integrity,” formulated its emergency recommendations titled “Ensuring
Integrity in Sport,” then submitted them to both the minister of MEXT
and the commissioner of the JSC. Upon receiving these recommendations,
the JSC devised the Action Plan for Ensuring Sport Integrity (2018) thenproceeded to create and publicize its “Governance Code for National Sport18 Sport Policy

Federation Members”, which established a model and guidelines for sport
federations to follow.
To draft the code, a Sport Integrity Subcommittee was formed under
the JSC’s inquiry commission and the code’s contents were consideredfrom a technical point of view. The Sport Integrity Subcommittee met a
total of six times between February and June of 2019 to discuss the code.
In June of that year, it formulated a code covering national federations.
Then in August, it finalized the Governance Code for general sportorganizations covering the “organizations of which the main purpose is tocarry out business for the promotion of sport” as defined in article 2(2) of
the Basic Act on Sport.

Sport Participation 19

Chapter 2
Sport Participation
I. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Adult
1. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities

To understand the level of participation in sport and physicalactivities by adult, the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) has examined
the statistical data gathered through the “SSF National Sports-Life Survey”,
which has been conducted every other year since 1992. The survey aims
to understand the current situations of sport participation in terms offrequency, duration and intensity among Japanese adults, including those
who participate in higher levels of sport and physical activities.
In this survey, the participation of adults in sport and physicalactivities were divided into the following levels; “Level 0” for those who
did not participate in any sport or physical activities for the past year;“Level 1” for those who participated at least once during the year, butless than twice a week; “Level 2” for those who participated at least
twice a week; “Level 3” for those who participated at least twice a weekwith a duration of “more than 30 minutes”; and “Level 4” for those who
participated at least twice a week, duration of “more than 30 minutes”, andwith more than moderate intensity (Table 2-1).
The levels of participation in sport and physical activities by adultare shown in Figure 2-1. Level 4 is the participation level recommended
by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Ministry of
Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan. SSF defines people who areat this level as “Active Sports Participants.” Since 1992, the proportion
Table 2-1 Levels of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
Level 0Non-participation (0 time/year)

Level 1

At least once during the year, less than twice a week (1-103 times a year)

Level 2At least twice a week (at least 104 times a year)

Level 3At least twice a week, with a duration of more than 30 minutes

Level 4
(Active Sports Participant)

At least twice a week, with a duration of more than 30 minutes, and withmore than moderate intensity
SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

（％）

2.7

1992

6.6

6.8

34.6

49.3

7.5

1994

6.6

7.6

28.3

50.1

1998

9.1

13.0

13.1

30.4

34.3

2000

7.8

15.4

17.6

29.3

29.8

2002

8.5

13.3

18.2

27.9

32.0

2004

9.2

16.1

26.6
20.0

28.1

2006

7.8

15.9

18.2

26.5

31.7

2008

9.1

17.4

19.1

26.4

28.1

21.5

2010

9.3

18.4

24.1

26.9

2012

9.2

20.0

25.1
20.2

25.6

2014

10.0

18.7

18.8

26.2

26.4

Figure 2-1 Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities

1996

9.1
8.9

9.8

34.1

38.1

2018

9.4

17.7

26.2
20.4

26.3

(Year)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

2016

7.9

17.7

19.2

27.3

27.9

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Level 020 Sport Participation

Sport Participation 21

of Active Sports Participants has been steadily increasing and in 2012 itreached 20% and the percentage is leveling off at the present. Level 3 has
also shown a tendency to gradually increase at a similar rate to Level 4.
Level 0, which had made up approximately 50% at the time of the
1992 survey, fell to 24.1% in 2010 then shifted to increase slightly after
that. While this trend of slight increase continued after the decision wasmade to host the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, the number declined to 26.2%
in the 2018 survey and has now recovered to 25.6%, the percentage in2012 prior to the Olympic decision. Between 2012 and 2018, in the period
before and after the Tokyo 2020 decision, Level 1 exhibited roughly thesame trend as Level 0.
Since 1992, Level 2 has stabilized within a range of three points.
After the Tokyo 2020 decision, there was a temporary decline from 2014
(10.0%) to 2016 (7.9%), then a recovery in 2018 (9.4%). Levels 3 and 4
have mostly exhibited increasing trends since the survey began. However,looking at the periods before and after Tokyo was selected to host the 2020
Olympics, both levels temporarily declined between 2012 and 2014; while
Level 3 remained there without recovering, Level 4 began increasing again
and reached its highest level ever (20.4%) in 2018.
2. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Gender and by
Age Group

The changes in the participation rate for sport and physical activities
over the last ten years (2008 to 2018) were compared by gender and by
age group. With regard to gender, a gradual increase was shown for the
proportion of Active Sports Participants (Level 4), with a slightly higher
level for men than for women (Table 2-2). Whilst men’s proportion
showed gradual increase, women once declined in 2014 and re-increased
since 2014. Conversely, the proportion of both men and women showeda slight decrease at Level 1, with the number of men remaining almost
Table 2-2 Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities(By Gender)
(%)
Level

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

Men Level 0

24.4

21.0

22.8

23.2

24.4

23.9

Women Level 0

31.7

27.0

28.3

29.5

31.2

28.5

Men Level 1

31.5

32.7

30.0

30.6

31.7

30.9

Women Level 1

21.4

21.3

20.3

21.9

23.1

21.7

Men Level 4

18.5

20.4

20.4

20.9

21.3

21.6

Women Level 4

16.3

16.3

19.5

16.5

17.1

19.3

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2008-2018)

22 Sport Participation

10 percentage points higher than that number of women. At Level 0, theproportion of women was higher than that of men. However, in 2008, a
7.3 percentage point gap was found between women (31.7%) and men(24.4%), but in 2012 there was only a 5.5 percentage point gap foundbetween women (28.3%) and men (22.8%), then in 2018 there was a 4.6
percentage point gap as women (28.5%) and men (23.9%), indicating thatthe gender difference was slightly narrowing.
In terms of age groups, the proportion of the population reaching
Level 4 was higher in 2018 for all age groups except the 30s and the 40s
age groups, when compared to 2008 (Table 2-3). This was especially
noticeable in the over 70s age group, where the proportion increased overa 10 percentage point (from 16.7% in 2008 to 27.6% in 2018). Similarly,
the trend for a growing level of active participation in sports and physicalactivities for elderly people was also seen in the numbers at Level 0, where
there was a 21 percentage point decrease (from 44.8% to 23.6%) for theover 70 age group.
Based on these results, it can be concluded that: (a) the proportionof people who regularly participate in sport and physical activities has
exhibited an overall upward or levelled off trend; (b) the gender differencein such participation has not been narrowed; and in particular, (c) the
proportion of the over 70s age group who participates in sport and physicalactivities has increased significantly.
Table 2-3 Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities(By Age)
(%)
Year

2008

2018

Level

In the 20s

In the 30s

In the 40s

In the 50s

Level 0

25.8

23.0

22.4

28.2

In the 60s 70 and over
29.0

44.8

Total
28.1

Level 1

32.7

33.4

39.1

23.6

15.7

9.9

26.4

Level 2

10.5

10.9

10.6

7.6

7.9

6.3

9.1

Level 3

14.7

13.9

10.9

24.6

28.1

22.2

19.1

Level 4

16.3

18.7

17.1

16.0

19.3

16.7

17.4

Level 0

29.9

25.0

23.7

29.3

26.8

23.6

26.2

Level 1

33.1

33.1

38.3

25.4

16.0

10.5

26.3

Level 2

7.1

9.8

11.6

11.2

7.6

7.9

9.4

Level 3

10.8

14.2

12.6

14.3

24.1

30.4

17.7

Level 4

19.2

17.9

13.8

19.8

25.5

27.6

20.4

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2008, 2018)

Sport Participation 23
3. Participation in Sport and Physical Actvities by Types of Sport

Table 2-4 shows the trends in the participation rate for various
types of sports (performed at least once in the previous year). Until 2012,“Strolling”, “walking”, “calisthenics and light exercises” and “bowling”
have ranked in the top four in the surveys conducted since 2008. “Weighttraining” became the fourth since 2014, continuing to increase steadily.
Participation rate for “Bowling” has been decreasing for the last threesurveys since 2014, but remains at the fifth. In 2012, “Jogging/Running”
ranked up to the sixth and stays at the same rank until the latest survey,
reflecting the impact of running boom in recent years.
4. Number of Registered Players by Types of Sport

In order to participate in competitions hosted by National Governing
Bodies (NGB) of sport or their affiliated organizations, participants
are required to pay an annual membership fee. These participants are
acknowledged as registered players.
The number of registered players and teams for sport which had thehighest number of participants (performed by the participants at least oncea year) according to the results obtained from “The 2018 SSF NationalSports-Life Survey” and “The 2019 SSF National Sports-Life Surveyof Young People”, were described based on the data released by NGBs
(Table 2-5).
When the number of individual players was examined, the sport that
had the largest number of registered players was “Football” with 958,924
people, followed by “Basketball” (620,715), “Golf” (598,114), “Softtennis” (439,117), “Track and field” (424,365) and “Volleyball” (422,924).
By gender, the number of men registered was higher than that of women in
many sports, with the exception of “Volleyball” and “Badminton” that had
a higher number of women.

Walking

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Bowling

Weight training

Swimming

Sea bathing

Golf on a course

Playing catch

Cycling

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

2010

Calisthenics and light exercises

2012

Calisthenics andlight exercises

8.2

Golf on a driving
range
8.1

8.5

Fishing
Playing catch

Golf on a driving
range

Golf on a course

9.0 Jogging/Running

11.5 Weight training

13.3 Bowling

18.5

24.5 Walking

34.8 Strolling

Fishing
Jogging/Running

7.9 Playing catch

8.0

8.7

8.9

9.0 Golf on a course

11.1 Weight training

15.1 Bowling

17.5

22.4 Walking

30.8 Strolling

Performed at least once in the previous year.

Strolling

2008

1

Rank

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Cycling
Golf on a driving
range
7.5 Swimming

8.0

8.3 Golf on a course

9.7 Jogging/Running12.2 Bowling

13.0 Weight training

20.5

25.0 Walking

34.9 Strolling

2014

Calisthenics andlight exercises

2016

Cycling

Calisthenics andlight exercises

6.7

Golf on a driving
range

7.2 Swimming

7.3 Fishing

7.5 Golf on a course

8.6 Jogging/Running

9.5 Bowling

13.5 Weight training

17.3

23.7 Walking

32.0 Strolling

2018

6.6

6.9

7.2

8.2

9.3

9.5

15.1

19.7

25.6

31.1

(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2008-2018)

7.2 Golf on a course

Swimming

7.5 Fishing

9.5 Jogging/Running10.0 Bowling

13.0 Weight training

18.5

25.7 Walking

33.0 Strolling

Table 2-4 Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities (By Types of Sport)

24 Sport Participation

Sport Participation 25
Table 2-5 Number of Registered Players and Estimated Participants
Number of Registered Players
Sport

Total

Men

Participation Rate(%)

Women

Age 12 - 19

Adult

Estimated Number
of Participants(in 10,000s)

Bowling

12,519

9,584

2,935

11.7

9.5

Golf

598,114

540,558

57,586

1.4

8.2

863

Swimming

118,122

-

-

14.2

6.9

847

Table tennis

348,195

216,816

131,379

17.9

5.6

747

Badminton

298,574

141,589

156,985

19.6

5.0

700

Football958,924

903,552

55,372

24.3

4.2

661

Baseball

12,76912,769

0

12.0

3.7

495

Volleyball422,924

161,134

261,790

15.8

2.8

436

Basketball620,715357,164

263,551

22.0

2.1

422

1,093

Tennis42,85827,915

14,943

6.3

2.5

317

Softball184,516

107,751

76,765

3.1

2.7

309

Ground golf

173,026

105,047

67,862

0.0

2.7

280

Ice skating

10,385

-

-

2.3

1.7

197

Soft tennis

439,117

-

-

8.4

0.8

161

Track and field

424,365

273,891

150,474

9.9

0.6

154

Surfing

11,600

9,980

1,620

0.3

0.7

76

Kendo

1,911,256

1,345,868

565,388

3.0

0.3

59

Karate87,718

-

-

1.7

0.4

57

Canoe

3,951

2,887

1,064

0.8

0.4

48

Flying disc

5,070

3,383

1,687

2.4

0.3

53

Judo

147,715

119,837

27,878

2.4

0.2

43

Rugby

95,20090,764

4,436

0.7

0.1

16

Rowing

9,204

6,251

2,953

0.4

0.1

14

Note1 : The estimated number of participants is displayed in a descending order (participants are aged
12 or over, and participate in the sports at least once a year).
Note2 : The estimated population of participants is the total number of 1 and 2 below.
1 The number of participants is calculated by multiplying the participation rate suggested in
the 2018 survey by the adult population (of 103,708,284 people based on the Basic Resident
Register on January 1, 2017).
2 The number of participants is calculated by multiplying the participation rate suggested in the2019 survey by the teenage population (of 9,258,507 people based on the Basic Resident
Register on January 1, 2018).
Note3 : Futsal or 5 a aside football is not included in the football.
Note4 : The registered numbers for baseball are players registered to Japan Amateur Baseball Association.
Note5 : Soft volleyball is not included in the volleyball.
SSF Census of the National Governing Bodies of Sports (2019)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

26 Sport Participation

II. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Children and Young People
1. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Children Aged
4-11 Years

The levels of frequency of children’s participation in sport andphysical activities were divided into 4 groups (Table 2-6). Those who
had not participated in any sport or physical activities within the previous
year were categorized into the “non-participation group”; those who
participated at least once a year but less than three times a week (between
1-155 times per year) were categorized into the “low frequency group”;
those who participated at least three times a week but less than seventimes a week (between 156-363 times per year) were categorized into the“moderate frequency group”; and those who participated at least seventimes a week (364 or more times per year) were categorized into the “highfrequency group”. Participation in sport activities during classes or events
at school, kindergarten, or nursery school were excluded from this survey.
Concerning the frequency of participation in sport and physicalactivities, children who never participated in any sport or physical activities(non-participation group) was 3.1%; those who participated at least threetimes a week (moderate and high frequency groups) was over 80%, andthose who participated in sport and physical activities at least seven times
a week (high frequency group) was 45.5% (Figure 2-2).
In Figure 2-3, the frequency levels of children’s participation in
sport are displayed by gender and by school year. With regard to gender,
the proportion of boys and girls in the high and moderate frequency group,
the total percentage was 82.7% for boys and 78.1% for girls.
In terms of the frequency levels of children’s participation in sport byschool year, the number of children in the low frequency group decreased
Table 2-6 Categories of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
for Children Aged 4-11 years
Participation Group

Criteria

Non-participation group

Non-participation (0 time/year)

Low frequency group

At least once a year but less than 3 times a week
(between 1-155 times/year)

Moderate frequency group
High frequency group

At least 3 times a week but less than 7 times a week
(between 156-363 times/year)
At least 7 times a week (364 or more times/year)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

Sport Participation 27

as the school years advanced, with 18.9% for preschool children, 14.6% forfirst and second grades, and 14.3% for third and fourth grades. This number
increased to 17.9% in fifth and sixth grades. Overall, 20% of children
are non-participation or are in the law frequency group, in another word“inactive”. At the same time, an increasing pattern was found for children
who participated in sport and physical activities at least three times a week(moderate and high frequency groups) as their school years advanced, with
77.5% for preschool children, 82.9% for first and second grades, 84.5% for
third and fourth grades, and 77.9% for fifth and sixth grades.
Non-participation group
3.1%
Low
frequency
group
16.4%

High
frequency
group
45.5%

Moderatefrequency
group
35.0%

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

Figure 2-2 Rates of Sport Participation for Children Aged 4-11 years
Non-participation group
Low frequency group

Moderate frequency group
High frequency group

Boys

14.9
2.4

Girls

18.1
3.8

35.1

43.0

Preschool children

18.9
3.6

33.2

44.3

First and second
grades

14.6
2.4

Third and fourth
grades

14.3
1.2

Fifth and sixth
grades

47.9

34.8

45.7

37.2

54.7

29.8

17.9

38.2

39.7

4.1
0

20

40

60

80

100（%）

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

Figure 2-3 Frequency Levels of Participation for Children Aged
4-11 years (By Gender and By School Year)

28 Sport Participation
2. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Children Aged
4-11 Years by Types of Sports

Table 2-7 shows the ranking of participation in sport and physicalactivities by children aged 4-11 years (top ten sport and physicalactivities participated at least once in the previous year). The sport that
had the highest participation rate in 2019 was “Playing tag”, followed by“Swinging”, “Swimming”, “Skipping rope (including long rope)” and“Riding bicycle”.
Table 2-8 shows the raking of participation in sport and physicalactivities that were “often participated in” by children aged 4-11 years.
This excludes sport and physical activities that were performed irregularly,
allowing for a more accurate and clear understanding of the types of sportand physical activities that are participated on a daily basis. Overall,“Playing tag” had the highest participation rate, followed by “Swimming”,“Dodgeball”, “Swinging” and “Riding bicycle”.
By gender, the most popular sport for boys were “Playing tag”,
following by “Football”, “Swimming”, “Dodgeball” and “Riding bicycle”,
and those for girls were also “Playing tag”, “Skipping rope (including longrope)”, “Swimming”, “Swinging” and “Riding bicycle”. This suggeststhat boys at the ages of around 4-11 years are already participating in sportthat continue to be popular in junior high and high school years, while girls
were mainly participating in play based activities.
Table 2-7 Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-11 years (At Least Once a Year)
Rank

Sport

%

1

Playing tag

65.0

2

Swinging

46.9

3

Swimming

46.1

4

Skipping rope (including long rope)

44.5

5

Riding bicycle

43.9

6

Dodgeball

41.4

7

Hide-and-seek

40.1

8

Horizontal Bar

39.5

9

Running

37.3

10Football

34.6
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2019)

25.7

24.4

Dodgeball

Riding bicycle

FootballSwinging

Skipping rope(including long rope)

Runnnig

Hide-and-seek

Horizontal bar

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Baseball

12.3

13.8

14.6

Skipping rope(including long rope)
Hide-and-seek

17.6

19.0

25.5

34.9

35.1

43.7

51.2

%

Runnnig

Swinging

Riding bicycle

Dodgeball

Swimming

FootballPlaying tag

Sport

Boys

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Badminton

Runnnig

Hide-and-seek

DodgeballHorizontal bar

Riding bicycle

Swinging

12.0

18.2

20.9

22.6

24.9

29.8

32.9

33.1

35.0

Skipping rope(including long rope)
Swimming

54.2%

Playing tag

Sport

Girls

Note : The “often participated in” indicates sport and physical activities that were participated in more frequently than the “at least once a year”.
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

17.0

17.2

17.9

26.0

27.6

29.0

34.1

Swimming

2

52.6

%

Playing tag

Sport

1

Rank

Overall

Table 2-8 Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Children Aged 4-11 years (Those Who “Often
Participated in” By Gender)
(%)

Sport Participation 29

30 Sport Participation
3. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Young People
Aged 12-21 Years

The participation rates of young people aged 12 to 21 years in sportand physical activities are analyzed in terms of frequency, duration andintensity (Table 2-9).
Those youths who did not participate in any sport or physicalactivities at all in the previous year were categorized as “Level 0”; those
who participated in sport and physical activities at least once a year
but less than once a week (1 to 51 times/year) as “Level 1”; those who
participated at least once a week but less than five times a week (52 to 259
times/year) as “Level 2”; those who participated at least five times a week(260 or more times/year) as “Level 3”; and those who participated at least
five times a week, with a duration of 120 minutes, and with more thanmoderate intensity as “Level 4.” Participation in sports activities duringclasses or events at schools were excluded from this survey.
From the survey conducted in 2019, the percentage of young people
who did not participate in any sport or physical activities in the previous
year (Level 0) was 21.7%, representing one in every five young people(Figure 2-4). Those who participated at least five times a week, with aduration of 120 minutes, and with more than moderate intensity (Level 4)
constituted 24.7% of the young people.
By gender, it was found that the proportion of boys at Level 1 was
13.9% while that of girls was 16.4%. Meanwhile, the proportion of boys
at Level 4 was 31.3%, and that of girls was 17.5%. Both of these results
show that the frequency of participation in sports and physical activities ishigher for boys than girls (Figure 2-5). It was also found that one in every
five girls did not participate in any sports or physical activities at all during
the previous year.
Table 2-9 Levels of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 12-21 years
Level

Criteria

Level 0Non-participation (0 time/year)

Level 1

At least once during the year but less than once a week (1-51 times/year)

Level 2At least once a week but less than 5 times a week (52-259 times/year)

Level 3At least 5 times a week (260 times or more/year)

Level 4At least 5 times a week (260 times or more/year)with a duration of 120 minutes, and with more than moderate intensity
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

Sport Participation 31

By school year, the proportion of young people at Level 0 was 7.9%
in junior high school years, 20.6% in high school years and 28.2% in college
years, indicating a general tendency to increase as school years advanced.
Moreover, the proportion of youths at Level 4 was high both in juniorhigh and high school years (at 38.8% and 32.5%, respectively), which
may have been due to school sports clubs that provide opportunities forstudents to participate in physical activities. Among young workers (aged15-21 years), the proportion of individuals at Level 0 was extremely highat 44.9%, and those at Level 4 were only 4.1%. Those who participated inphysical activities once a week or less (e.g. Level 1 or below) accounted
for 70.9% of young workers. Such a low participation rate compared toother youths is an issue that needs to be addressed appropriately.
4. Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by
Young People Aged 12-21 by Types of Sports

Table 2-10 shows the ranking of participation in sports and physicalactivities by young people aged 12-21 years (top ten sports and physicalactivities participated at least once in the previous year). In 2019, “Football”
had the highest participation rate, followed by “Basketball”, “Jogging or
running”, “Badminton” and “Table tennis”.
Table 2-11 shows the ranking of participation in sport and physicalactivities that were “often participated in (high frequency level)” by young
people aged 12-21 years. In 2019, “Football” had the highest participation

Level 4
24.7%

Level 021.7%

Level 1
15.1%

Level 318.2%
Level 2
20.3%

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

Figure 2-4 Rates of Sport Participation for Young People Aged
12-21 years

7.9

5.5

20.6

15.7

28.2

28.3

20

44.9

19.6

13.9

13.7

16.4

40

26.3

16.3

19.9

28.2

16.9

60

26.0

20.8

19.2

17.1

80

19.4

38.8

Level 2

32.5

31.3

5.6

17.5

12.3

Level 3100 (％)

4.1

5.5

Level 4

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children and Young People (2019)

27.7

Level 1Figure 2-5 Rates of Sport Participation for Young People Aged 12-21 years (By Gender and By School Year)

0

Working

CollegeHigh

Junior high

Girls

Boys

Level 032 Sport Participation

Football

Playing tag

Basketball

Dodgeball

Jogging/running

Badminton

Swimming

Skipping rope

Weight training

Playing catch

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Sport

1

Rank

2015

20.0

20.1

21.9

23.1

24.6

24.9

25.0

28.1

28.7

29.4

%

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Skipping rope

Volleyball

Walking

Table tennis

Playing tag

Weight trainning

Badminton

FootballBasketball

Jogging or running

Sport

2017

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

14.3
12.3

Swimming
Bowling

14.4

14.9

15.5

16.1

18.0

19.9

20.2

21.6

%

Volleyball

Walking

Weight trainning

Playing tag

Table tennis

Badminton

Jogging or running

Basketball

Football

Sport

(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015, 2017, 2019)

15.0

17.4

17.7

18.5

18.7

20.3

20.7

22.5

23.0

24.6

%

2019

Table 2-10 Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Young People Aged 12-21 years(At Least Once a Year)Sport Participation 33

Basketball

Playing tag

Badminton

Jogging/running

Dodgeball

2

3

4

5

6

Table tennis

10

13.7

14.1

14.5

17.2

17.6

18.2

19.7

23.4

25.6

%

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Walking

Playing tag

BaseballTable tennis

Volleyball

Weight training

Badminton

FootballJogging or running

Basketball

Sport

2017

12.8

13.3

13.7

14.4

15.6

18.2

18.7

20.4

20.7

21.9

%

Walking

10

11.1

11.5

11.9

13.0

13.5

13.5

16.5

17.5

20.0

21.5

%

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015, 2017, 2019)

BaseballPlaying tag

Table tennnis

Volleyball

Weight trainning

Badminton

Jogging or running

Basketball

Football

Sport

2019

9

8

7

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Note: The “often participated in” indicates sport and physical activities that were participated in the most over the past year.

Weight training

9

VolleyballSwimming

Football

1

7

Sport

Rank

2015

Table 2-11 Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by Young People Aged 12-21 years(Often Participated in)

34 Sport Participation

Sport Participation 35

rate, followed by “Basketball”, “Jogging or running”, “Badminton” and“Weigh training”/ ”Volleyball”.
“Football” had high participation rates among boys, on the other
hand “Badminton” and “Jogging or running” had high participation rates
for girls, and “Basketball” was participated by both boys and girls. This
result suggests that the popular school sport clubs in junior high and highschools reflect the ranking of sport participated by young people.

36 Sport Participation

III. Sport Facilities
1. Public, Private and School Facilities

According to the “Social Education Survey” of Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the numberof public sport facilities in Japan increased from the time the survey started
in the 1950s through the 1990s. However, the number stayed almost at
the same level after 2002. In 2018, the number of public sport facilities
was 46,977 (Figure 2-6). On the other hand, the number of private sportfacilities reached a peak in 1996 with 18,146, then continued to decline
through 2018 where the number was recorded as 16,396.
Moreover, many schools and educational organizations own
sport facilities such as gymnasiums, playgrounds and swimming pools,
which are used for their physical education classes or school sport clubs.
According to the “Survey on the Current Status of Facilities for Physical
Education and Sports Activities” (2015) conducted by MEXT, there
were 116,029 “school sport facilities” (in elementary, junior high, high,vocational schools, etc.) and 7,621 sport facilities at universities, colleges
and technical colleges.
In Table 2-12, the number of public sport facilities and school
sport facilities are shown by facility types. The public sport facilities
were dominated by multi-purpose playgrounds (7,554), followed bygymnasiums (7,101), and baseball and softball fields (6,123). For school
sport facilities, there were 32,410 gymnasiums, 29.561 multi-purpose
playgrounds (with grounds of 992m2 or more), and 23,263 swimming
pools (outdoor).
2. Usage of Sport Facilities

In the SSF Sports Life Survey, males and females aged 18 and overwere asked questions about the usage of sport facilities and locations whenengaging in sport and physical activities, and the same questions were asked
to those between the ages of 12 and 21. According to the results, 50.3% of
individuals 18 years or older use “Roadways”, followed by “Home (yard,
indoors, etc.)” at 23.9%, “Gymnasium” at 20.0%, and “Public Park” at
16.9%. While “Gymnasium” was ranked third, it is clear that sport andphysical activities are being enjoyed at familiar, everyday places. Viewing
the results for the 12 to 21 age group, the most common location was“School Playground or Sport Field” at 30.9%, followed by “Gymnasium
at Daycare, Kindergarten, or School” at 24.2%, “Public Park” at 18.0%,
and “Gymnasium” at 15.8%, indicating that sport and physical activitiesof the youth are centered around school.

1955

1,634

As of October 2018.

0

10,00020,00030,00040,000（Facilities）
50,000

1960

1,848

1963

2,524

1971

7,146

1978

13,662

1981

19,391

1984

24,605

1987

13,44734,4091993

16,08840,663

1996

1999

48,05547,925

2002

2008

2011

2015

2018
(Year)

16,396

46,977

Social Education Survey (MEXT, 1955-2018)2005

47,536

15,532 14,987

47,571

16,814 16,780 17,323

47,321

18,146 17,738

46,554

Figure 2-6 Number of Public and Private Sport Facilities in Japan

1968

4,659

Private Sport Facilities

Public Sport Facilities

48,141

Sport Participation 37

38 Sport Participation
Table 2-12 Number of Public Sport Facilities and School Sport
Facilities by Facility Types
Public Sport Facilities(2018)

School Sport Facilities(2015)

Multi-Purpose Playgrounds

7,554

35,933Gymnasiums

7,101

37,339Baseball / Softball Fields

6,123

1,914

Tennis Courts (Outdoor)

4,680

9,542

Swimming Pools (Outdoor)

1,717

28,171

Gateball / Croquet fields

1,612

2

Training Centres

1,760

1,747

Social Education Survey (MEXT, 2018)
Survey on the Current Status of Facilities for Physical Education and Sports Activies (MEXT, 2008)

Sport Participation 39

IV. Sport Spectators
1. Sport Spectating at Live Sport Events

According to “The 2018 SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, 31.8%
of adults had attended a sporting event at gymnasiums/arenas or stadium
as a spectator in the previous year (Figure 2-7). When compared withprevious surveys, the rate of sport spectating has stayed within the rangeof at around 30 percent in the last 10 years.
By gender, the spectating rate for men (36.6%) was 9.5 percentage
points higher than the rate for women (27.1%) (Figure 2-8). By age, thehighest spectating rate was found in the 40s age group (39.7%), followedby the 50s and 30s age groups. Since the 2000 survey, the spectating rate
has consistently been found to be the highest in the 40s age group.
When looking at the results by sport, “Professional Baseball(NPB)” had the highest spectating rate at 13.7%, followed by “High
School Baseball” at 5.8%, “Professional Football (J. League) ” at 5.5%,
and “Marathon and Ekiden - marathon relays” at 3.8% (Table 2-13).
Spectator Numbers for Professional Sport

Table 2-14 displays the yearly changes in the number of spectators
attending the events of professional sport organizations affiliated with theJapan Professional Sports Association. Excluding government-operated
competitive sport, “Baseball” had the most spectators in 2018, with a
total of 25,550,719. Next came “Football (J. League)” with 9,767,611
spectators. In addition to baseball and football, “Men’s Golf - JGTO”, and(Year)
2008

34.2

2010

33.5

2012

31.7

2014

31.6
32.9

2016

31.8

2018
0

10

20

30

40
(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2008-2018)

Figure 2-7 Rates of Adult Spectating Live Sport Events

40 Sport Participation

Men

36.6

Women

27.1

In the 18-19

39.4

20-29

29.4

30-39

30.6

40-49

39.7

50-59

33.9

60-69

26.8

70 and over

27.6

0

10

20

30

40

50
(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

Figure 2-8 Rates of Adult Spectating Live Sport Events (By Genderand By Age)

Table 2-13 Popular Spectator Sport (Multiple Answers)
2018
Rank

Sport

AttendanceRate(%)

Estimated
Spectators(in 10,000s)

1Professional Baseball (NPB)

13.7

1,453

2

High School Baseball

5.8

615

3

Professional Football (J League)

5.5

583

4

Marathon and Ekiden

3.8

403

5

Football (High School, University, JFL, etc.)

1.9

202

6

Professional Basketball (B League)

1.7

180

7

Amateur Baseball (University, Company Teams, etc.)

1.6

170

1.5

159

1.2

127

8
10

Basketball (High School, University, WJBL, etc.)
Sumo Wrestling
Professional Golf

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

6,142,471
3,636,080
3,218,805
1,684,330

Horse Racing (Japan Racing Association)

KeirinHorse Racing (Local)

Motorcycle Racing

1,657,126

3,250,824

3,303,425

6,317,073

8,938,331

560,480

97,296

336,427

9,169,163

24,236,920

2015

Note 1: Annual spectator numbers for member organizations of the Japan Professional Sports Association (JPSA).
Note 2: JGTO: Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA: Professional Golfers’ Association of Japan.

9,319,130

528,899

Boat Racing

Women’s Golf Tour

69,227386,394

Men’s Golf - JGTO

Men’s Golf - PGA Senior

8,764,301

22,859,351

2014

Football (J. League)

BaseballSport

Table 2-14 Number of Spectators for Professional Sport

1,453,305

3,165,418

2,710,818

6,175,238

7,931,862

591,643

80,401

292,805

9,708,735

25,139,463

2017

1,360,446

3,070,056

2,505,291

6,266,912

7,624,968

559,696

62,332

337,136

9,767,611

25,550,719

2018

Documents published by JPSA member organizations (2019)

1,538,074

3,180,540

2,949,673

6,300,662

8,494,863

530,894

77,208349,681

9,416,913

24,981,514

2016(Number of People)

Sport Participation 41

42 Sport Participation“Horse Racing” had more spectators than they did in the previous year.
Among government-operated competitive sport in 2018, “Boatracing” had the most spectators (7,624,968), followed by “Horse
Racing (3,070,056)”, “Keirin” (2,505,291), and “Motorcycle Racing”(1,360,446). National horse racing was the only sport which showed anincrease in the number of spectators from 2017, in contrast to numbers forthe other publicly-run competitive sport which were either holding steadyor declining.

Sport Participation 43

V. Volunteering in Sport
1. Rates and Types of Volunteering in Sport among Adults

According to the “SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, the rate ofvolunteering in sport among adults in Japan hovered at around 6-8% for
the sixteen years from 2000 to 2018, which represents less than 10% of
the total adult population (Figure 2-9). Based on the rate of 6.7% recorded
in 2018, the total number of sport volunteers can be estimated at about 7.1
million people.
When the results were looked at by gender, the rate of volunteeringin sport for men was twice as high as that of women in most of the surveys,
indicating that the majority of volunteering is done by men. By age, the50s age group had the highest rate (Figure 2-10).
The results of the 2018 survey can also be looked at concerning thetypes of volunteer in sports. “Running or helping sports events” at “Local
sports events” was the highest ranked activity at 35.8%, followed by thesame activity in “Day-to-day activities” at 31.8%, “Coaching” at 26.4%,
and “Refereeing” at 24.9% (Table 2-15). In terms of the amount of times
dedicated to the volunteer work per year, “Coaching” in “Day-to-day
activities” was the activity with the highest frequency rate (43.3 times),
followed by “Running or helping sports clubs” (25.0 times) and “Helping
to manage sports facilities” (13.4 times).

(%)
14

Men

12 11.6
10
8
6

11.4
10.1

8.3

7.9
7.0

5.1
4.1

4

11.0
9.9

4.5

8.4
7.3 7.5
5.0

Women

10.3

7.7

6.7
5.8

5.9

2008

2010

5.1

Overall

9.6
7.7
5.8

8.2

8.1
6.7

6.7

5.3

5.3

2016

2018
(Year)

2
0

2000

2002

2004

2006

2012

2014

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2000-2018)

Figure 2-9 Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Adults (By Gender)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

(%)
16

4.9

7.6

6.8

2000

9.3

13.6

5.5

6.8

6.8 6.8

4.8

5.7

5.2

2004

7.2

9.3

4.5

5.2

5.5

6.2

2006

10.2

2.2

4.2

5.3

6.6

2008

6.6

12.7

4.0

5.8

10.1

7.9

2010

7.2

12.0

6.6
5.2

6.9

8.4

2012

6.4

11.9

6.6
5.9

7.5

4.4

2014

8.1

13.6

In the 50s

In the 20s

5.7

2016

6.3 6.1

3.9

7.3

7.3

5.3

6.3

2018 (Year)

6.9 7.1

70 and overIn the 40s

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2000-2018)

5.1

8.2

9.3

In the 60s

In the 30s

Figure 2-10 Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Adults (By Age Group)

2002

6.9

9.6

14.6

15.4

44 Sport Participation

Sport Participation 45
Table 2-15 Types of Volunteering in Sport (Multiple Answers)
Participationrate(%)

Frequency(times per year)

Coaching

26.4

43.3

Refereeing

24.9

11.1

Running or helping sports clubs

31.8

25.0

Helping to manage sports facilities

7.5

13.4

Refereeing

18.9

8.3

Running or helping sports events

35.8

3.3

Refereeing

1.0

2.5

4.5

1.4

Types of sport volunteer

Day-to-day
activities

Local sports
eventsNational andinternational events

Running or helping sports events

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

2. Rates and Types of Volunteering in Sport among Young People
Aged 12-21 Years

The rates of volunteering in sport among young people aged 12-21
years can be assessed based on “The 2019 SSF National Sports-Life
Survey of Young People”. As shown in Figure 2-11, the rate of young
people who responded that they had done any kind of volunteer work in
sport within the previous year hovered consistently at around 12-16% forover the ten years since 2005, which is 6-8 percentage points higher than
(%)
20
18

Boys
18.3

16
14

13.3

12
10

12.7

11.3

Overall

18.0

17.6
14.1

Girls

13.9

15.0
13.5 12.8
12.1

15.7
13.5

12.1

10.2

11.1

14.0
12.5
10.9

8.5

8
6
4
2
0

2005

2009

2011

2013

2015

2017

2019
(Year)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2005-2019)

Figure 2-11 Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Young People
Aged 12-21 years (By Gender)

46 Sport Participationthat of adults.
By gender, the rate of volunteering in boys (14.0%) was 3.1
percentage points higher than that of girls (10.9%), which suggests asimilar trend to that observed in adults. By school year, volunteering insport was done the most during high school years (16.9%), followed byjunior high school (12.4%) and college (10.7%).
Looking at the types of volunteer work, “Judging or helping judges”
was ranked the highest at 54.5%, followed by “Helping out at sport events”
at 38.8%, and “Coaching or helping coaches” at 31.1% (Table 2-21). By
gender, “Judging or helping judges” was the highest for both boys (59.0%)
and girls (48.3%).
Table 2-16 Types of Volunteering in Sport by Young People Aged
12-21 years (Multiple Answers)
(%)
Types of sport voluneer

Overall

Boys

Girls

Juniorhigh

HighCollege

Coaching or helping coaches

31.1

31.1

31.0

24.3

20.9

59.0

Judging or helping judges

54.5

59.0

48.3

71.4

51.4

41.0

Helping out at sport events

38.8

39.3

37.9

30.0

44.2

41.0

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2019)

Disability Sport 47

Chapter 3
Disability Sport
I. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities byPeople with Disabilities
1. Participation in Sport and Physical Activities by People with
Disabilities

Figure 3-1 displays the number of days people participated in sportor recreation in the past year, with the results for people with disabilities
on top and those for people without disabilities on the bottom. Data for
Three or more days per week (at least 151 days per year)
One to two days per week (51–150 days per year)
One to three days per month (12–50 days per year)
One to two days every three months (4–11 days per year)
One to three days per year
Didn’t participate
Don’t know
0%

Disabled
Adults[n=6,532]

Nondisabled
Adults[n=19,502]

10%

12.5

26.0

20%

30%

12.8

8.8

40%

50%

60%

2.9
3.0

25.5

70%

80%

54.4

12.1

4.7
3.0

90%

100%

5.7

26.3

2.5

Note: Data for nondisabled adults is based on “Public Poll on Sports Participation” (2019) conducted by JSA.
National Sport Life Survey for People with Disabilities (JSA, 2018)

Figure 3-1 Number of Days that Adults Participated in Sport or
Recreation in the past year

48 Disability Sport

the upper portion is obtained from the report titled “National Sport Life
Survey for People with Disabilities” while the bottom portion is basedon “Public Poll on Participation in Sports”, both conducted by the JapanSports Agency.
The data indicates that 12.5% of disabled adults participated threeor more days per week compared to 26.0% of nondisabled adults, while
12.8% of disabled adults participated one to two days per week compared
to 25.5% of nondisabled adults. Using these two levels of participation
as a standard for representing individuals who engaged regularly in sportor recreation reveals that the level of participation for disabled adults(25.3%) was limited to half that reported for nondisabled adults (51.5%).
Even more striking is the fact that the percentage of individuals who did
not participate was nearly two times higher for disabled adults (54.4%)
than nondisabled adults (26.3%).
Types of Sport Played by People with Disability

Table 3-1 displays the sport and recreational activity participation
for disabled adults in the past year, sorted by eight types of disabilities.
“Strolling” had the highest participation for all disability types, followedby “Walking” and “Calisthenics and light exercise”, except for “Limb
Impairment” which have “Baseball” on the second. Also making it on thelist is participation in aquatic exercises, such as “Swimming” and “Water
walking”, which have long been used for rehabilitation.
2. Participation in Sport by Children and Young People with
Disabilities

Figure 3-2 displays the number of days that disabled children andyoung people between the ages of 7 and 19 participated in sport andrecreation. According to the “Project for promotion of disability sports inthe communities (Research on promoting sports participation for people
with disabilities)” by the Japan Sports Agency, 14.5% participated three ormore days per week in the past year, while 15.9% participated one to twodays per week. The percentage of disabled children in this age group thatparticipated at least one day per week was therefore 30.4%, compared to44.8% who responded that they did not participate at all. As for disability
type, about 40% of children with developmental disability participated in
sport and recreation at least one day per week, compared to about 10% ofchildren with limb impairment [requiring wheelchair].

Playing catch

SoftballWalking

Swimming

3

4

5

5

Walking

Swimming

Calisthenics and light exercise

Bowling

2

3

4

5

10.1

14.2

18.9

24.3

39.5

%

8.5

9.1

10.2

13.6

%

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Calisthenics and light exercise

Swimming

Jogging/Runnig

Walking

Strolling

n=247

Developmental Disability

Calisthenics and light exercise

Water Walking

Swimming

Walking

Strolling

n=607

12.1

12.6

13.4

28.7

41.3

%

10.0

10.7

10.9

28.3

38.9

%

Calisthenics and light exercise

Weight training

Bowling

3

4

5

%

9.5

13.7

17.0

23.5

31.7

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

n=20,000

Cycling

Running/Marathon/Long-Distance Relay

Training

ExerciseWalking

%

8.8

10.4

14.0

15.0

38.7

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Note 1: Use of a wheelchair is determined by whether one is required for daily life.
Note 2: SSF National Sports-Life Survey is a national survey of individuals over the age of 18.

Walking2

n=3,000

Strolling1

Rank

Reference: SSF National Sports-Life Survey 2016 Reference:Public Poll on Sports Participation 2016

Strolling

1

n=296

Intellectual Disability

Baseball2

Rank

Strolling

n=176

1

Rank

Limb Impairment [Requiring Wheelchair] Limb Impairment [Not Requiring Wheelchair]

10.8

11.1

14.0

36.1

43.0

%

8.2

9.6

9.9

28.7

36.5

%

n=310

Playing catch

Calisthenics and light exercise

Swimming

Walking

Strolling

Hearing Impairment
%

8.1

9.4

11.6

28.1

36.8

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

n=557

Water Walking

Swimming

Calisthenics and light exercise

Walking

Strolling

8.1

9.0

11.5

28.2

40.8

%

Other (Including Speech and Internal Disabilities)

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

National Sport Life Survey for People with Disabilities (JSA, 2018)

Jogging/Runnig

Swimming

Calisthenics and light exercise

Walking

Strolling

n=742

Mental Disorder

Swimming

Playing catch

Calisthenics and light exercise

Walking

Strollingn=282

Visual Impairment

Table 3-1 Participation in Sport and Recreation for the past year by Disability Types (n = 2,755 adults; multiple answers)

Disability Sport 49

50 Disability Sport
Three or more days per week (at least 151 days per year)
One to two days per week (51–150 days per year)
One to three days per month (12–50 days per year)
One to two days every three months (4–11 days per year)
One to three days per year
Didn’t participate
Don’t know
0%
Disabled Children
and Young People
aged 7-19[n=1,236]

20%

14.5

15.9

40%

10.4

3.9

60%

3.2

80%

44.8

100%

7.4

National Sport Life Survey for People with Disabilities (JSA, 2018)

Figure 3-2 Number of Days Disabled Children andYoung People aged
7-19 Participated in Sport and Recreation in the past year
Participation in Sport and Recreation by Disability Tape

Table 3-2 displays the top three sport and recreation activities thatchildren and young people with disabilities participated in over the past
year for each disability type. “Swimming”, “Strolling” and “Walking”
had high participation rates at all disability types. “Swimming” had thehighest participation among five disability types due to its many different
approaches and instructional methods, which strengthens its coaching andsupport systems and allows it to be actively implemented for school-age
children.

Intellectual Disability
n=237
Swimming
Strolling
Walking
Skipping rope
Jogging/Runnig

Developmental Disability% Rankn=397
40.1
1
Swimming
35.4
2Strolling
21.1
3
Skipping rope
15.2
4
Football
14.8
5
Walking

Note 1: Use of a wheelchair is determined by whether one is required for daily life.

Reference: SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People 2015
Rank
n=1,712%
1
Football
29.4
2
Playing tag
28.7
3
Basketball
28.1
4
Dodgeball
25.0
5
Jogging/Runnig
24.9

Rank
1
2
3
4
5

13.3

%
28.3
21.7
15.0

Other (Including Speech and Internal Disabilities)% Rank
n=90
%
25.3
1
Strolling
30.0
22.8
2
Swimming
25.6
20.3
3
Walking
17.8
4
Calisthenics and light exercise 14.4
19.0
Skipping rope5
13.3
Sea bathing

Hearing Impairment% Rankn=60
36.4
1
Swimming
27.3
2
Strolling3
Football
21.2
Playing catch
4
SkiingTable tennis
18.2

National Sport Life Survey for People with Disabilities (JSA, 2018)

Mental Disorder% Rankn=79
39.8
1Strolling
31.0
2
Swimming
23.7
3
Skipping rope
17.9
Walking4
17.4
Jogging/Runnig

Limb Impairment [Requiring Wheelchair] Limb Impairment [Not Requiring Wheelchair]
Visual Impairment
Rank
n=30
% Rankn=69% Rankn=33
1Playing catch
23.3
1
Swimming
23.2
1
Swimming
2
Swimming
20.02Strolling
13.0
2
Football
3
Camp
13.3
BaseballSkipping rope3
10.1
3
FootballCalisthenics and light exercise
Calisthenics and light exercise
Dance
Playing catch
Strolling
4
Walking
5
Softball8.7
Jogging/Runnig
10.0
5Strolling
Basketball
Sea bathing
BocciaDodgeball

Table 3-2 Sport and Recreation Participation for the past year by Disability Type(n = 783 disabled children and young people aged 7–19; multiple answers)

Disability Sport 51

52 Disability Sport

II. Sport Facilities for People with Disabilities
1. Sport Centers for People with Disabilities

Sport centers for people with disabilities allow people withdisabilities to have exclusive or priority access. These centers areequipped with a range of facilities, such as gymnasiums, swimming pools,
playgrounds and training rooms, which have been designed to be moreeasily used by people with disabilities. The SSF “Research on Sports
Facilities for People with Disabilities” (2019) reported that there were 141
such facilities in Japan in 2018. Of these, 86.1% of facilities are equippedwith gymnasiums, 38.9% with training rooms, 36.1% with swimming
pools, 34.3% with multi-purpose rooms, 30.6% with sound table-tennis
rooms, and 23.1% with table-tennis rooms.
Along with universal design features, such as the eliminationof steps, the installation of braille blocks and barrier-free restrooms, toaccommodate the needs of people with disabilities, these facilities also offer
a variety of information resources to assist people with disabilities. Such
resources include the use of visual displays for people with intellectual
disabilities and an electronic bulletin board to assist people with hearing
impairments. Moreover, tools and equipment that allow people withdisabilities to participate in sport, as well as full-time disability sport
instructors are available in most of the centers, which often serve as acommunity hub for disability sport activities.
According to the same survey above, 90.3% of these facilities arerun by designated managers, while 9.7% are managed directly by theirlocal governments. Of the facilities with designated managers, 26.1% aremanaged by social welfare councils, 25.0% by quasi-governmental social
welfare corporations, 14.1% by social welfare corporations, and 8.7% by
welfare associations for people with physical disabilities and disability
sports associations.
About 70% of the sport centers for people with disabilities werebuilt before the 1990s, and only a few centers have been constructed sincethen. Based on the background purposes for their establishment, sport
centers for people with disabilities can be divided into the following seventypes. By March 2006, all type 2 and type 3 facilities was transferred
to municipalities and they are currently being managed by a variety oforganizations.
1. Welfare Centers for the Persons with Physical Disabilities (Type A)
Facilities specified in the Act for the Welfare of Physically Disabled
Persons, aimed at supporting social participation of persons with

Disability Sport 53

physical disabilities.
2. Gymnasiums for Workers with Physical Disabilities
Facilities formerly known as “Gymnasiums for Workers with Physical
Disabilities” were established in 1961 by the Employment Promotion
Corporation, with the aim of improving welfare and more stable
employment of workers with physical disabilities.
3. Education, Culture and Sports Centers for Workers with Physical
Disabilities (The Sun Centers)
Facilities formerly known as “Education, Culture and Sports Centers
for Workers with Physical Disabilities (The Sun Centers)” were alsoestablished by the Employment Promotion Corporation, with the aimof making use of available facilities to improve the physical functions,
physical fitness, communication, education and cultural welfare ofWelfare centers for people withphysical disabilities (Type A)

38

Education, Culture and Sports Centers forWorkers with Physical Disabilities(The Sun Centers)

29

Gymnasiums for Workers with
Physical Disabilities

28

Welfare centers for people withphysical disabilities (Type B)

19

5

Rehabilitation centers

31

Others

0

10

20

30

40

SSF Research on Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities (2019)

Figure 3-3 Number of Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority
Access for People with Disability by Categories

54 Disability Sport

workers with physical disabilities.
4. Welfare centers for people with physical disabilities (Type B)
Welfare centers as defined by the Act on Welfare of Physically Disabled
Persons that are at least 424 square meters in size and offer creative
activities, opportunities to be productive, encouragement to interact
with the world, volunteer training, and other services that will help
people with physical disabilities participate in society.
5. Rehabilitation centers
Facilities that offer complete support services to people with disabilities,
from functional recovery training to reentry into society.
6. Recovery centers for people with disabilities
These welfare centers are designed for people with physical disabilities
in order to improve their health and social participation by providing aplace where they or family members can freely lodge, rest, or engage
in recreation at.
7. Others
Facilities that have been established by prefectures or ordinancedesignated cities for purposes other than those listed above (1 to 6).
Feature of Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for
People with Disabilities

About 70% of sport facilities that are exclusively for people withdisabilities were constructed prior to the 1990s. Since they are public
facilities, they have implemented repairs, earthquake-proofing, etc.
within their limited budgets; however, such facilities have also been
demolished, had their functions relocated, or been newly built. About
30% of these facilities have an adjoining room for sound table tennis.
Enjoyed primarily by people with visual impairment, sound table tennis
requires soundproofed, quiet rooms and a dedicated tennis table. Setting
up the game at public sport facilities is not an easy process. One of thecharacteristics of a sport facility that is tailored exclusively for people withdisabilities is the permanent installation of a soundproofed room for soundtable tennis; four of the five facilities newly built since 2012 have included
such installations. Also, the fact that usage of facilities of day-service
programs during after-school hours increased from 45.2% (in the 2015
survey) to 64.2% is presumably due to the influx of many private business
operators following the creation of that system in 2012.

Disability Sport 55
Usage of Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for People
with Disability

The method each sport facility with exclusive or priority accessfor disabled people uses to calculate visitor numbers varies; 54.0% of
these facilities determine it by totaling the number of individuals whocomplete the sign-up process at the reception desk, while 36.5% countfor the number of users of each section of the facility. All of the facilities
that had over 100,000 total visitors (including people with disabilities)
in 2017 are located in major cities and are ranked as follows, frommost visitors to least (Table 3-3): Osaka City NAGAI Sports Center for
Persons with Disabilities; Yokohama Rapport Sports & Cultural Center
for Disabled; Tokyo Metropolitan Sports Center for the Disabled; Osaka
City MAISHIMA Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities; Tokyo
Metropolitan Tama Sports Center for the Disabled; Saitama Social
Activities Center for the Disabled; Osaka Prefectural Community Center
for People with Disabilities (Fine Plaza Osaka); and Kyoto DisabledSports Center.
Sport participation for people with disabilities is expected to increasesince the Act on the Elimination of Discrimination against Persons with
Disabilities went into effect in 2016, thus sport facilities with exclusive
or priority access for disabled people are anticipated to help handle new
influx of disabled people to public sport facilities.
Table 3-3 Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for
Disabled People with more than 100,000 users
(2015 - 2017)
Name of facilities

2015

2016

2017

Osaka City NAGAI Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities

265,322 245,750

250,511

Yokohama Rapport Sports & Cultural Center for Disabled

227,078 223,603

219,448

Osaka City MAISHIMA Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities 158,697 163,394 164,838
Tokyo Metropolitan Sports Center for the Disabled

153,451

127,466

71,635*

Saitama Social Activities Center for the Disabled

128,812142,276

116,395

Osaka Prefectural Community Center for People with Disabilities(Fine Plaza Osaka)

118,880

128,031

110,096

Kyoto Disabled Sports Center

104,897 103,790

106,016

Note : Tokyo Metropolitan Sports Center for the Disabled was operated in a temporary facility in 2017
due to the renovation.
SSF Research on Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities (2018)

56 Disability Sport

III. High Performance Measures for Paralympic Sport
1. Measures for Improving Competitiveness for Paralympic SportIn its analysis of the results from the 2016 Paralympics in Rio deJaneiro, the Japanese Paralympic Committee (JPC) found that; (a) there
are insufficient support systems for producing top performance; (b) there
is not enough data analysis of the world’s gold-medal contenders; (c) there
is a small number of athletes who have the potential to win gold medal;and (d) efforts to enhance athletic performance are lagging behind thoseof countries ranked high on the medal chart. Recognizing that packing allvenues with spectators and spectacular performances of Japanese athletes
will be essential to succeeding at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the JPC is
working to enhance performance and achieve its goal of finishing in the
top seven on the gold medal ranking.
JSA Policy for Supporting Competitiveness

The Support Policy for Enhancing Future Athletic Performance
defines the time until FY2018 as the “period for building the foundationof a successful performance.” To maximize performance in all events, ajoint team that includes both the JOC and JPC was created in the HighPerformance Center within the JSC; that team has provided diverse
consulting on the performance-enhancement strategies formulated bynational governing bodies of sport (NFs) and actively supported theenhancement activities of those organizations.
During the “last-spurt period” of 2019–2020, the team has
provided flexible, focused support to maximize the possibility of earning
medals based on the results of each NF during the period for building
the foundation of a successful performance. Also, during this last-spurt
period, the JSA will designate the events with high potential to win medals
at Tokyo 2020 as “Tokyo Focused-Support Events.” 10 Paralympic
events have been selected for focused support such as additional grants
for improving athletic performance: wheelchair rugby, wheelchair tennis,
cycling, judo, swimming, badminton, boccia, track-and-field (physicaldisability), archery, and goalball.
JPC Measures

To augment the functionality of its main office, the JPC plans tohire more staff, expand its offices, establish various committees, assist
with performance enhancement, support the field of medical science,and improve its athlete support and placement. Working with the JapanSport Agency, the Japan Sport Council (JSC), and the Japanese Olympic

Disability Sport 57

Committee (JOC), a new Indoor Training Center East at the National
Training Center (NTC) was built within the High Performance Sport
Center for use by both Olympic and Paralympic athletes. The JPC has also
strengthened Paralympic sport organizations by supporting performanceenhancement through the Japan Institute of Sports Sciences (JISS) and by
establishing NTC reinforcement sites for each sport. It is in the processof creating an environment that allows it to devote itself to enhancement
activities—its supporting funds to organizations have increased each year;
it is improving its training projects such as overseas trips and training
camps; and it has introduced a system for compensated full-time staff.
After narrowing down the list of athletes and events that have goldmedal potential at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, the JPC created the Tokyo
2020 Special Support Committee to provide those athletes and events with;(a) thorough enhancement strategies based on medicine, science, and data;(b) fully-equipped training facilities and environments; (c) substantial,
high-level competitive environments and improving international athletic
performance; and (d) research and development of equipment used inmatches, such as wheelchairs and prosthetic legs.
2. The National Training Center for Paralympic SportThe National Training Center East – Indoor Training Center

To allow it to be used as a shared training facility for Olympic andParalympic athletes, National Training Center East has indoor handrails
marked with braille, sliding doors, scales and training equipment forwheelchair athletes, and shower-use wheelchairs that are designed to get
wet. There are many other improvements throughout the facility, such as air
pumps for tires and minimized gradients in the bathtubs of the carbonatedspring bathing facility, which helps athletes recover from fatigue. The
facility tour features an exhibit introducing Paralympic events, which is
expected to play a role in increasing the public understanding of disability
sport.
NTC East aims to improve athletic competitiveness on theinternational level by continuously providing meals, lodging, andrecovery under the same roof as its training facilities, which include five
dedicated training grounds (swimming, table tennis, fencing, archery,
and marksmanship) plus four shared courts that are expected to be usedprimarily for ball sport. While Paralympic sport such as wheelchairbasketball, boccia, and power lifting take priority for using the sharedcourts, athletes competing in some of the Olympic events can also use
them. The swimming pool is built to the same specifications as those58 Disability Sport

used in the Olympic Games (ten lanes with a depth of 3 meters). Capableof housing up to 28 tables, the table-tennis room is designed with airconditioning vents in the floor to reduce the effects of wind on the games.
The archery range is equipped with a device that can create a crosswindof about 10 m/s, allowing athletes to practice under adverse conditions.
The fencing area boasts 30 pistes—the most of any training facility in the
country—and has many ingenious features, including cables that connect
the athlete’s body to a scoring box inside the floor.
Event Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities for
Paralympic SportAs for events which are not sited at the NTC, JSA has designated“Event Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities” andis providing training environments to improve international athletic
performance in coordination with the NTC. As of October 2019, 17
Table 3-4 Event Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities
for Paralympics
Sport

Designated facilities

Location

Athletics

Tanabe Sports Park

Wakayama

Wheelchair Tennis

Chikuho Heights

Fukuoka

Football 5-a-side

ZOZOPARK HONDA FOOTBALL AREA

Chiba

Wheelchair Basketball

Chiba Port Arena

Chiba

BocciaOsaka City MAISHIMA Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities

Osaka

Powerlifting

Kyoto Prefectual Welfare Center for People with Mental and Physical Disabilities

Kyoto

Sitting Volleyball

Himeji City Hall Annex

Hyogo

GoalballTokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium

SaitamaWheelchair Fencing

Former Kyoto City Sanno Elementary School

Kyoto

Para Canoe*

Lake Kiba Canoe Sprint Course

Ishikawa

Para Cycling*

Japan Cycle Sports Center

Shizuoka

Para Triathlon*

Phoenix Seagaia Resort

MiyazakiPara Taekwondo*

Hashima Disaster Prevention Station

Para Equestrian*

Gotenba Horsemanship and Sports Center

Para Biathlon*

Tayama Shooting Range

Iwate

Para Ice Hockey

Yamabiko Skating Complex

NaganoPara Alpine Skiing

Sugadaira Pinebeak Snow Park

NaganoHigh Altitude Training*

Gifu
Shizuoka

Hida Ontake Kougen Highland Sports Training Area
Zao Bodaira Athlete Village* Joint use with Olympic sport.
As of October 2019

Gifu
Yamagata

Japan Sports Agency (2019)

Disability Sport 59

facilities have been designated for Paralympic sport, and work is being
done to augment them for the purpose of enhancing athlete performancein those sport (Table 3-4). This includes improvements to their training
environments, medical, scientific, and data support systems, and networks.

60 Disability Sport

IV. The Nippon Foundation Paralympic Support
CenterAfter Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Paralympics, the Nippon
Foundation established the Nippon Foundation Paralympic ResearchGroup in June 2014 to extensively study how the event should be held and
how Japan should prepare. The group has invited experts and practitioners
from a variety of fields to give lectures at its study sessions as it promotes
the exchange of ideas among researchers, Paralympians, companies,
journalists, individuals connected with disability sports, and others, as it
advances research and study on topics related to the Paralympics, issues
bulletins, and hosts international symposiums.
During this process, one of the common issues was the managementof sport organizations. In consideration of the current insufficiencies
regarding dedicated offices and personnel, the foundation created theParalympic Support Center (“Parasapo”) on May 15, 2015, and announced
that it would provide approximately 10 billion yen in assistance through theyear 2021. To propel the Paralympic movement, it is working to strengthen
the foundation of Paralympic sport organizations and to promote public
understanding of the Paralympics.
Diversity and Inclusion Program

Under its slogan “Social Change with Sports,” the Paralympic
Support Center has provided a variety of programs to a diverse group ofpeople, including education, training, lectures, and events. In February
2019, the “Asu-Challe! (Challenge for Tomorrow) School” travelingclassroom delivered a hands-on para-sport experience to about 140,000
children in elementary, middle, and high schools across 47 prefectures.
Para-sport events such as Para Ekiden and Para Festival went beyond theframework of sport, allowing roughly 143,000 attendees over four years
to enjoy themselves regardless of whether or not they have a disability.
Strengthening the Foundation of Paralympic Sport

Fact-finding surveys conducted on sport organizations after thecenter was established have revealed issues in the current state of their
executive structures, personnel, and financial affairs. In particular, mostof their annual budgets are comprised of grants, and they have difficultyraising enough funds to cover their fixed costs such as those required tomaintain their offices and personnel. To combat this, the Center decided
to implement support in three ways: (a) create a joint office that provides
workspace free of charge and encourages organic interaction between

Disability Sport 61

fellow organizations, (b) establish a system for subsidies that can beallocated to the wages of executive-office personnel, and (c) provide backoffice functions that help organizations operate more efficiently, such as
consolidating common tasks like accounting and translation.
The subsidy system can be broadly divided into personnel costs andoperating costs. Personnel costs are allocated to the hiring of individuals
that work in the executive office, while operating costs are allocated to
the following five categories; (a) governance (acquiring corporate status,
establishing internal regulations, outsourcing accounting tasks, etc.);(b) personnel training (training executive employees, improving the skillsof referees and members of classification committees, etc.); (c) publicawareness (holding hands-on learning sessions to increase the athlete
population ; (d) PR and marketing (policies to increase the fan base, suchas updating websites and creating pamphlets); and (e) other costs. The
amount of funds contributed was as follows: in 2015, about 80 million
yen went to 21 organizations; in 2016, about 270 million yen went to 29
organizations; in 2017, about 390 million yen went to 29 organizations; in
2018, about 430 million yen went to 29 organizations; and in 2019, about
440 million yen went to 30 organizations.
This support is provided to encourage each organization to achieve
independent operation once the support ends, and an upper limit on thesubsidy is set based on the management status of the organization and its
expected management in the future. The same policy is applied to the backoffice functions that consolidate common tasks. In addition, the Nippon
Foundation Para Arena was constructed in 2018 as an exclusive para-sport
gymnasium that serves as a training environment for Paralympic athletes
and a place to hold events that raise public awareness about para-sport as
the Tokyo Paralympics draw near.

62 Human Resources for Sport

Chapter 4
Human Resources for Sport
I. Professions in Sport
1. Human Resources in Local Sport Administration

Sport administration in prefectures and municipalities has mainly
been governed by the local Boards of Education, pursuant to Article 23 and24-2 of the “Act on the Organization and Operation of Local Educational
Administration” enacted in 1956. However, after the revision of the Act
in 2007, many local governments transferred the responsibilities of sport
administration to their own jurisdiction. According to the “Survey on Local
Sport Administration” (2017) conducted by the Japan Sports Agency,
as of 2016 the sport administration department was located within thegovernor’s office for 53.2% of the 47 prefectures and within the mayor’s
office for 19.6% of the 790 municipalities that responded to that survey.
In the “SSF All Municipalities Survey on Sports Promotion” conductedby SSF in 2016, these numbers were 44.7% for the 47 prefectures and15.2% for the 1,188 municipalities. Sport administration offices governed
by local governments are often referred to as Sports Promotion Division or
Health and Physical Education Division, depending on the municipality.
The survey revealed that 1,927 people in total and 41.0 people on
average were employed full-time in the sport administration departments
in prefectures, with 14.3% of them assigned to “lifelong sports”, 21.7% to“high performance sports”, and 4.5% to “para-sports”. The total numbers
for the 790 municipalities was 4,528 people and 5.7 people on average,of which 21.7% of them were assigned to “sports facilities management”,
17.9% to “lifelong sports”, and 10.3% to “high performance sports”.
2. Human Resources in Sport Organizations

There are various sport organizations across Japan. With a few
exceptions, the national governing bodies of sport (NGBs) serve as themain administering body of each sport, and have a number of affiliatedorganizations including prefectural associations. To understand the current
number of staff members in NGBs who are engaged in the promotion ofeach sport, the results of the “SSF Census of the National Governing
Bodies of Sports” (2019) were examined. The subjects of the survey were

Human Resources for Sport 63

89 sports organizations that were affiliated organizations of either JapanSport Association (JSPO), Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) or Japan
World Games Association (JWGA).
Staff members in National Governing Bodies of Sport (NGBs)

NGBs were asked for the number of staff members in each of
the following positions: directors (full-time and part-time), auditors,
councilors, regular employees, contract/commissioned workers, seconded
employee (from sponsor companies, etc.), temporary workers, part-timeworkers, interns and others. The total number of staff members in the
63 organizations that responded to the survey was 3,652 people. Of thisnumber, 1,387 were directors (including auditors), 1,363 were councilors
and 902 were operating staff members (Table 4-1).
The average number of operating staff members (excluding directors
and councilors) was 14.3 persons per organization. However, this number
varied depending on the organization. For example, some organizations
had no operating staff members, while another had 158. With regard to
those organizations that had no operating staff members (5 organizations),
it is assumed that the directors worked in various positions.
By gender, the proportion of men working as operating staff
members was higher, accounting for 54.4% of the total while womenmade up the remaining 45.6%. Looking at the employment status of
Table 4-1 Number of Staff Members in National Governing Bodies
of Sport
Type

Men

Women

Total

Director (full-time)

116

13

129

Director (part-time)

963

156

1,119

Auditor

121

18

139

Councilor

1,245

118

1,363

Full-time employee

347

234

581

Contract/commissioned worker

64

51

115

Seconded employee

53

15

68

Temporary worker

5

48

53

Part-time worker

17

55

72

Intern0

3

3Others

5

5

10

Total

2,936

716

3,652

Note: The results show the total number of workers are in 63 affiliated organizations of JSPO, JOC orJWGA that responded to the survey.
SSF Census of the National Governing Bodies of Sports (2019)

64 Human Resources for Sport

those operating staff, excluding directors and councilors, 64.4% wereregular employees, 26.6% were non-regular employees (such as contract/commissioned workers, temporary workers and part-time workers) and7.5% were temporarily seconded employees from other companies
including sponsors and suppliers.
The average number of directors was 22.0 persons per organization,and 10.3% of these were full-time directors. By gender, male directors
accounted for 87.0% of the total and female directors accounted for
13.0%, showing that female directors remained around 10%. Among the
respondents, 7 organizations (11.1%) did not have any female directors
present, and those that had two or fewer female directors accounted for
57.1% of the total respondents.
3. Human Resources in Sport Industries

To understand the number of employees in Japan’s sports industries,
the “Japan Standardized Industrial Classification” of the Ministry ofInternal Affairs and Communications (MIC) was used to extract a list of
all the sports industries in Japan. Then, the number of employees in eachof those industries was obtained from “Economic Census” by the MIC.
A total of 14 different types of industries were examined, all of whichwere not involved in any businesses other than those sport-related. The
industry that had the highest number of employees was “golf courses”(with 116,437 people), followed by “sporting goods retailers” (88,609
people), “fitness clubs” (86,309 people) and “sports and health classes”(76,963 people) (Table 4-2). When all of the workers in these 14 industries
were combined, the total number was 501,070 people.
Compared to the results obtained in 2012, the number of sportrelated employees in 2016 had increased by 28,806 people and it showed
increase in 7 sport industries. This increase was particularly high in“gymnasiums” and “bowling alleys”.
4. University Students and Faculty Members in Physical Education

The number of university students and faculty members in physicaleducation and sport departments were examined based on the findings fromthe “Schools Basic Survey (for higher education institutions)” (2015 and2018) conducted by MEXT. The total number of students in departmentsthat were exclusively devoted to physical education and sport -“Facultyof Sports and Health Science”, “School of Physical Education”, “Schoolof Health and Physical Education”, “Department of Sports Science” and“Department of Sports”- was 28,124 in the survey conducted in 2004.

Human Resources for Sport 65

However, new sports departments have been established every year since2009, and the total number of those students studying sport has steadily
increased to 42,187 in 2015 and 45,924 in 2018 (Table 4-3).
The number of students in other departments (such as Departmentof Education or Department of Human Sciences) who might have studied
physical education or sport were not included in this survey. Thus, theactual total number of students may be greater than those obtained.
Additionally, the number of faculty members in physical education andsport departments has increased from 1,389 in 2015 to 1,632 in 2018.
Table 4-2 Number of Employees in Sport Industries
Industries

Number of Workers

Increased/Decreased
Number (%)

2012

2016

Sporting and athletic goods manufacturing

17,188

16,661-527(-3.2)

Sporting goods retailers

82,30088,609

6,309

(7.1)

Sports and hobby goods rental outlets

4,291

3,473

-818 (-23.6)

Facilities for public gambling sports(horse race, bicycle race, motorboat raceand motorcycle race)

21,795

15,423-6,372 (-41.3)

Gymnasiums

5,555

11,5856,030(52.1)

Golf courses

115,895

116,437

542

(0.5)

Golf ranges

31,231

28,410-2,821(-9.9)

Bowling alleys

13,303

18,6675,364(28.7)

Tennis clubs

2,979

2,752

-227

(-8.2)

Batting tennis centers

2,954

2,637

-317 (-12.0)

Fitness centers73,54386,30912,766(14.8)

Sports facilities (other than those above)

35,50633,144-2,362(-7.1)

Sports and health classes

65,72476,963

11,239(14.6)

Sports facilities

Economic Census (MIC, 2012 and 2016)

1
3
1

Faculty of Culture and Sports Policies Policy

Department of Sports Science

School of Health and Sports Science

Total

32

42,187

Established in 2018

372

Faculty of Sport Management1

Department of Sports and Human

859

Established in 2017

1

School of Lifelong Sports

2,443

Established in 2017

750

5,272

1,190

1,047

22,356

7,898

Students

Faculty of Sport Culture2

Department of Sports

Department of Sport Promotion

1

12School of Physical Education

School of Health and Physical Education

10

Universities

Faculty of Sports and Health Science

Department Name

2015

1,389

22

42

81

20

170

34

–

744

276

Faculty Members

39

1

1

1

1

2

1

1

6

1

1

11

12

Universities

1,632

38

28

23

41

85

18

20

259

34

–

743

343

Faculty Members

Schools Basic Surveys (MEXT, 2015 and 2018)45,924

264

410

466

950

2,603

78

694

6,961

1,211

1,029

22,171

9,087

Students

2018

Table 4-3 Number of University Students and Faculty Members in Physical Education and Sport Departments

66 Human Resources for Sport

Human Resources for Sport 67

II. Sport Instructors
1. Sport Instructor Qualification Scheme

Japan’s Sport Instructor Qualification Scheme was developed
from the qualification system established by the Minister of Educationin 1987 (“Assessment Project of Knowledge and Skills of Social Sports
Instructors”). This was an instructor development project implemented
by sport organizations. Instructors who satisfied the standards determinedby the Ministry of Education (currently MEXT) received a so-called“stamp of approval”, indicating that their level of knowledge and skills
was officially recognized. Previously, the Japan Sport Association (JSPO)
had launched the Instructor Qualification Scheme for each sport in 1977
(which was somewhat similar to the current scheme) with the cooperationof NGBs. There were only about 32,000 people registered for certification
till 1988. In 1989, the scheme was revised, and was incorporated into theproject authorized by the Minister of Education. As a result, more people
were interested in obtaining an instructor qualification and the number ofregistered instructors exceeded 50,000 in 1994.
With the trends of administrative reforms, since 1996 ministry
approval towards any qualification scheme operated by a public interest
corporation is required to be in accordance with the Act. This came to berecognized as the “Regulations relating to Assessment Project of Knowledge
and Skills of Social Sports Instructors” of the Ministerial Ordinance,
specified based on Article 11 (Improvement of Instructors) of the “Sports
Promotion Act”. All organizations operating the qualification scheme(including JSPO, NGBs and National Recreation Association of Japan)
became the government-authorized qualification providers. However, in2002 the Cabinet office approved the “Implementation Plan for the Reformof Modalities in the Administration of Public Service Corporations” andabolished the Minister’s responsibility to ensure the legality of examinations
conducted by public service corporations at the end of 2005.
After this abolition, the JSPO reshaped their qualification scheme,
and has been operating their officially authorized “Sports Instructor
Qualification Scheme” ever since. In response to Article 11 (Trainingof Instructors) of the “Basic Act on Sport”, the Sport Basic Plan (2012)
has set the following new policy goals: promoting the training of sports
instructors, taking into account the needs of local residents and sports
organizations; effectively utilizing qualified sports instructors; training
sports instructors that can contribute to the success of high performancesports; and enriching the career paths of top-level athletes and sports
instructors.

68 Human Resources for Sport
2. JSPO Sports Instructor Qualification Scheme

Table 4-4 shows the five categories and 16 different types ofqualifications, except for “Former Qualifications”, that are offered by
JSPO. With the cooperation of NGBs, JSPO provides “Qualifications ofInstructors per Competition” which are intended to train instructors ofeach sport, and are composed of six types of qualifications according totheir age and level of skills. To date, JSPO has trained instructors in over
50 different types of sport.
The “Fitness Regime Qualifications” include: “JSPO Sports
Table 4-4 Number of Registered JSPO Certified Sports Instructors
Category
Basic Qualifications ofSports Instructors

Qualifications ofInstructors per
Competitions

Fitness Regime
Qualifications

Medical Conditioning
Qualifications

Sports Management
Qualifications

Former Qualifications

Title

Number of Registered Instructors
2016

2019

JSPO Sports Basic Leader

324,712394,006

JSPO Coach I

108,381

117,371

JSPO Coach II

12,764

11,669JSPO Coach III

17,481

21,172JSPO Coach IV

5,492

6,410

JSPO Instructor I

3,290

3,124

JSPO Instructor II

1,325

1,130

JSPO Sports Programmer

3,647

3,307

472

439

JSPO Junior Sport Coach

4,544

4,352

JSPO Athletic Trainer

3,027

4,139

JSPO Sports Doctor

5,806

6,209

JSPO Sports Dentist

136

476

JSPO Sports Dietitian

212

374

5,551

5,466

JSPO Club Manager

397

382

Sports Trainer I

32

21

Sports Trainer II

76

49

Total (excluding sports leaders)

172,633

186,090

Total (including sports leaders)

497,345580,096

JSPO Fitness Trainer

JSPO Assistant Club Manager

As of October 1, 2019
Note: JSPO Sports Dentist was officially recognised from April 2015.

JSPO (2016 and 2019)

Human Resources for Sport 69

Programmer” which is a qualification to offer guidance for the maintenanceand improvement of fitness to adults; “JSPO Fitness Trainer” which is for
professional fitness instructors to provide various basic fitness training at
commercial sport facilities; and “JSPO Junior Sports Coach” which is aqualification to teach children about physical fitness and motion facilitation
through play at local sport clubs.
The “Medical Conditioning Qualifications” include the following
four qualifications: “JSPO Athletic Trainer” which is a qualification toprovide instruction in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation; “JSPOSports Doctor” to undertake the health care, injury prevention, diagnosis
and treatment of athletes; “JSPO Sports Dietitian” to provide nutritional
guidance to athletes and enhance their athletic performance; and “JSPO
Dentist” has been added since 2015 to diagnose, treat, prevent and research
impairment or injury in dental and oral area caused by sporting activities.
The “Sports Management Qualifications” are targeted at individuals
who are involved in the management of comprehensive community sport
clubs. The “JSPO Assistant Club Manager” is designed to develop staff
members who possess the basic knowledge necessary for the managementof comprehensive sport clubs, and qualified individuals who are expected
to support activities related to club management. The “JSPO ClubManager” is targeting the individuals to improve their management skills
including securing and enhancing the effective use of financial resources
to ensure the sound management of sport clubs.
In addition to JSPO Sports Doctor qualification mentioned
previously, other sport-related qualifications are offered to physicians by
Japan Medical Association Certificate of Accreditation for Sports Health
Physicians and Japanese Orthopedic Association Certificate for Sports
Physicians.
Number of Registered Instructors

As of October 2019, there were 580,096 qualified instructors
registered with JSPO (Table 4-4). The number of those registered as “JSPOSports Basic Leaders” has significantly increased, primarily because of achange in the calculation method. Excluding those Sports Basic Leaders,
the total number of certified instructors in 2019 increased by about 14,000
people, when compared to that number in 2016.
By sport, the number of registered instructors was highest for“Football” (38,683), followed by “Volleyball” (17,773), “Swimming”(16,837) and “Softball” (12,535) (Table 4-5).

70 Human Resources for Sport
Table 4-5 Number of Registered JSPO Certified Sports Instructors
per Sport
Number of Registered Instructors

Sport

2016

2019

Football35,547

38,683

Volleyball15,75917,773

Swimming

17,343

16,837

Softball

12,697

12,535

Basketball

8,767

11,269

Kyudo (Japanese Archery)

4,687

6,358

Karate

4,633

5,035

Tennis

4,723

4,545

Table tennis

3,161

3,176

Ski

4,099

3,145

〜
Total
As of October 1, 2019

148,733

160,876
JSPO (2016 and 2019)

3. Disability Sport Instructor Qualification Scheme

The Japanese Para-Sports Association (JPSA) has established the“Para-Sports Instructor Qualification Scheme” to train and certify six
types of instructors in order to accommodate the participation of people
with disabilities in various sport activities. The “Beginner’s Para-Sports
Instructor” is to help people with disabilities within the community tointegrate sport into their daily lives; “Intermediate Para-Sports Instructor”
can provide sport instruction to people with disabilities at a prefecturallevel; “Advanced Para-Sports Instructor” provides advanced sport
instruction to people including people with disabilities and other instructors
at a prefecture or region level by utilizing their specialized knowledge andskills as well as advanced teaching techniques; “Sports Coach” is to train
and develop specific skills of para-athletes and organizations in certain
sport. JPSA also offers qualifications such as “Para-Sports Physician”,
who is qualified to work for the improvement of the physical health andperformance level of para-athletes from the medical point of view, and“Para-Sports Trainer” to support the safety management and improve theperformance level of para-athletes (Table 4-6).

Human Resources for Sport 71
Table 4-6 JPSA Certified Sports Instructor Qualifications
Category

Number of Registered Instructors
2016

2019

Beginner’s Para-Sports Instructor

19,27822,025Intermediate Para-Sports Instructor

3,117

3,992

Advanced Para-Sports Instructor

758

861

Sports Coach

152

182

Para-Sports Physician

395

568

Para-Sports Trainer

132

As of December 31, 2019
Note: Sports coaches include those certified as Advanced andIntermediate Para-Sports Instructors.

207
JPSA (2016 and 2019)

72 Sport Clubs

Chapter 5
Sport Clubs
I. Sport Club Memberships for Adults
1. Membership Trends and Types of Sport Clubs
Membership Trends

According to “The 2018 SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, thepercentage of adults who were enrolled in a sport club, team or group(hereinafter collectively referred to as a “sport club”) was only 18.5%(Figure 5-1). The MEXT’s “Public Opinion Poll on Physical Fitness andSports” (2013) showed a similar result that only 16.2% of adults wereenrolled in sport clubs.

All Adults

18.5

Men

20.0

Women

17.0

18-19

21.1

23.9

57.6

26.3

53.6

21.5

61.6
35.2

43.7

20-29

16.0

24.1

59.8

30-39

14.2

24.0

61.8

40-49

17.5

50-59

18.7

26.2

55.1

60-69

20.0

23.9

56.1

70 and older

24.2
0

23.3

59.2

20.0
20

Currently member

55.9
40

60

80

Formerly member

100 (%)

Never joined

SSF National Sports-Life Survey （2018）

Figure 5-1 Membership of Sport Clubs

Sport Clubs 73

With regard to gender, the proportion of men who were enrolled ina sport club was 20.0%, which was 3.0 percentage points higher than thatof women (17.0%). Conversely, in terms of those who were not enrolled inany sport clubs, the proportion of women was 8.0 percentage points higher(61.6%) than that of men (53.6%).
By age groups, the over 70s age group showed the highest
membership rate of 24.2%, followed by the 18 to 19 age group with21.1% and the 60s age group with 20.0%, indicating that one in every fiveindividuals are currently enrolled in a sport club. In terms of those who
were not enrolled in any sport clubs, non-membership rates in the 30s
only reached over 60%.
Figure 5-2 shows the trends in the rate of sport club membershipbased on the findings of “The SSF National Sports-Life Survey” overthe past 18 years. The proportion of adults who were enrolled in a sportclub remained at around 20% from 2002 to 2018. Although it showedslight increase since 2010, it dropped by 1.9 percentage points from theprevious survey in 2016 (18.1%) and remained almost the same rate in2018 (18.5%).
Membership Status by Types of Sport Clubs

Figure 5-3 shows the types of sport clubs that people participate in.
The most popular clubs were “Local community clubs (mostly managed
by local residents)” at 34.7%, followed by “Friends and acquaintances’
clubs”, “Private sports clubs and fitness clubs”, “Workplace clubs” and“Alumni clubs”.
(%)
30

All Adults

Men

Women

25.6
25
22.0

20

18.5

22.1

23.2

22.7
21.2

19.0

19.2

18.4

21.6

22.3

22.3

19.7

20.0

20.6

18.0

18.8
17.1

16.1

15.9

15.9

2002

2004

2006

17.7

19.7
18.1
16.4

16.1

20.0
18.5
17.0

15

10

2000

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

Figure 5-2 Trends in the Rate of Sport Club Memberships

6.7

27.9

53.9

14.8

16.5

11.8

26.7

25.8

13.1

0.0

22.5

2.2

10.6

2.7 3.6

10.1

Figure 5-3 Types of Sport Clubs

80.0

3.9

20.4

23.6

22.5

29.4

4.9

30.1

30.7

25.9

13.7

1.0

0.9

0.0

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2018)

Other

100.0 (%)

2.2

4.9

4.9

2.0

2.7

2.4

6.7

Friends and aquantances’ clubs

39.3

4.7 2.7
46.7

Workplace clubs

60.0

14.6

25.0

17.4

6.0

27.3

31.8

Alumni clubs

9.7

7.2

20.4

5.9

40.0

9.8

10.6

Private sports clubs and finess clubs

20.0

41.8

37.1

38.4

34.7

31.4

13.3

24.3

18.0

Local community clubs

0.0

70 and older

60-69

50-59

40-49

30-39

20-29

18-19

Women

Men

All Adults

74 Sport Clubs

Sport Clubs 75

By gender, the proportion of women who were members of “Local
community clubs” was 7.0 percentage points higher (38.4%) than men(31.4%). The same trend was observed in “Private sports clubs and fitness
clubs”, with women (31.8%) leading men (10.6%) by 19.8 percentage
points. By age groups, the proportion of “Friends and acquaintances’
clubs” were 46.7% at the 18 to 19 age group, 39.3% at the 20s age group,
29.4% at the 30s age group and 30.1% at the 40s age group, indicatingthat more than one-third of adults were enrolled. The proportion of “Local
community clubs” increased as the age group increased especially beyond
40s, and exceeded 50% in the over-70 age group, clearly showing that
community sport clubs played an important role for seniors to participate
in sport and physical activities.
Among respondents who were not currently enrolled in any sport
clubs, the proportion of those who would like to become a sport clubmember was 16.8%. This figure has fallen since the rate (19.4%) reported
in the previous survey (2016). By gender, the proportion wanting to enroll
in a sport club was higher in women with over 20% for the last four surveys
since 2010 to 2016, but the result in 2018 survey showed there were not a
big gap between men and women.

76 Sport Clubs

II. Participation in Sport Clubs and School Sport
Clubs by Children and Young People
1. Sport Club Membership for Children Aged 4-11 Years

In “The SSF National Sports-Life Survey for Children (2019),
respondents were asked about their enrollment in school sport clubs, privatesport clubs (such as swimming and gymnastics clubs), and community
sport clubs (youth sport associations, sport classes, etc.).
The enrollment rate for children between the ages of 4 and 11 was
57.6%, as indicated in Figure 5-4. Regarding gender, 63.0% of boys wereenrolled compared to 51.7% of girls, a difference of 12.3 percentage points.
Although this gender disparity in enrollment rates was nonexistent amongpreschoolers, it was significant for elementary school students. Enrollment
rate increased along with grade level – 36.3% for preschoolers, 53.2% forfirst- and second-graders, and 67.2% for third- and fourth-graders. Over
half of elementary school students were enrolled in sport clubs.
By type of sport club, “private sport clubs (such as swimming andgymnastics clubs)” showed highest proportion with 65.7%, followed by
local community clubs (junior sport clubs, sport classes, etc.) with 30.1%
and school sport clubs with 21.2%. The data suggests that private sport
clubs are an important activity location for children in this age group.
2. Sport Club Membership for Young People Aged 12-21 Years

According to “The 2019 SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young
People”, 48.5% of young people aged 12-21 years were members of sport
clubs (in school sport clubs, local community clubs such as junior sport
clubs, and private sport clubs such as swimming and gymnastics clubs)
in 2019 (Figure 5-5). When calculated with the total population of young
people in Japan (11,666,238 people, according to the basic resident register
as of January 1, 2018), the number of young people who were sport clubmembers were around 565 million people.
By gender, boys accounted for 57.4% of sport club members, while
girls accounted for 38.7%. By school year, the highest membership rate
(71.5%) was found in junior high school years. The membership rate
decreased to 50.9% in high school years, and then 32.9% in college years.
It can be concluded that high school years are a turning point for young
people in terms of joining sport clubs. Moreover, the membership rate inyoung workers (aged 15-19 years) was significantly low, at 10.9%.
By type of sport clubs, “Sports clubs at schools” ranked the highest
at 77.0%, followed by “Local community clubs (junior sport clubs, sportclasses, dojo, etc.)” at 12.3% and “Private sports clubs (swimming clubs,

20

40

46.8

80

32.1

32.8

100 (%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2019)

Formerly member

60

63.7

48.3

37.0

42.7

Figure 5-4 Membership in Sport Clubs among Children Aged 4-11 years (2019)

Currently member

67.9

Fifth- and Sixth-Grades

53.2

67.2

0

36.3

51.7

63.0

57.6

Third- and Fourth-Grades

First- and Second-Grades

Preschoolers

Girls

Boys

All

Sport Clubs 77

WorkerCollegeHigh

Junior high

Girls

Boys

All

0

20

50.9

57.4

71.5

Currently member

40

89.1

49.1

80

42.6

28.5

100 (%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2019)

Formerly member

60

67.1

61.3

51.5

Figure 5-5 Membership in Sport Clubs among Young People Aged 12-21 years (2019)

10.9

32.9

38.7

48.5

78 Sport Clubs

Sport Clubs 79

gymnastic clubs, etc.)” at 9.9% (Figure 5-6).
3. School Sport Clubs in Junior High School

When focused on the changes in the total number of junior highschool students and their membership rate in school sport clubs, the total
number of students has decreased slightly in the past five years. However,
the membership rate in school sport clubs has remained at around 65%.
By gender, the proportion of boys involved in school sport clubs
has dropped from 77.2% in 2013 to 73.7% in 2018, while for girls it hasremained at around 55%.
When the number of students registered in 2018 were examinedby sport, “Football” had the largest number with 196,343 students (aregistration rate of 16.0%), followed by “Rubber baseball” with 166,800
students (13.6%), “Basketball” with 163,100 students (13.3%), “Table
Tennis” with 158,475 students (12.2%) and “Soft Tennis” with 149,258
students (12.2%) (Table 5-1). In 2011, rubber baseball was the sport that
had the largest number of students registered (19.6%). However, thisnumber decreased to 13.6% in 2018 (a decrease of 6.0 percentage points
over five years). On the other hand, “Football” has shown an increasing

77.0

Sport clubs at schools

Community sport clubs (junior sport
clubs, local sport classes, dojo, etc.)

12.3

Private sport clubs (swimming clubs,
gymnastic clubs, etc.)

9.9Sport circle at school

9.9

2.2

Others

0

20

40

60

80

100
(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2019)

Figure 5-6 Types of Sport Clubs for Young People Aged 12-21 years(Multiple Answers)

80 Sport Clubs
Table 5-1 Number of Students Registered in Junior High School
Sport Clubs (Top 10)【Boys】
2013
Rank

2018

Sport
Number of students(%)

Number of students(%)

1

Football253,51718.1

196,343

16.0

2

Rubber Baseball242,290

17.3

166,800

13.6

3

Basketball174,32112.5

163,100

13.3

4

Table Tennis

145,257

10.4

158,475

12.9

5Soft Tennis

173,105

12.4

149,258

12.2

6

Track and Field

132,1519.5

125,291

10.2

7Volleyball50,852

3.6

53,018

4.3

8

Kendo

60,8644.4

49,9394.1

9Badminton

38,344

2.7

49,150

4.0

10

Swimming

31,2992.2

30,764

2.5【Girls】
2013
Rank

Sport

Number of students

2018
(%)

Number of students(%)

1

Soft Tennis

197,22720.9

167,76219.3

2

Volleyball159,990

16.9

145,312

16.7

3

Basketball140,22714.9

130,366

15.0

4

Table Tennis

93,8359.9

99,677

11.5

5

Track and Field

94,52910.0

94,643

10.9

6

Badminton

88,931

9.4

82,2109.4

7Softball48,036

5.1

37,858

4.4

8

Kendo

37,846

4.0

32,124

3.7

9

Swimming

17,152

1.8

16,455

1.9

10

Badminton

12,469

1.3

11,0901.3

Note: The Ranking are the results from 2018 survey.
Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association(2013, 2018)

Sport Clubs 81

popularity in the last five years. For girls, “Soft Tennis” was the sport that
had the largest number registered with 167,762 students (a registration
rate of 19.3%), followed by “Volleyball” with 145,312 students (16.7%),“Basketball” with 130,366 students (15.0%), “Table Tennis” and “Trackand Field”.
4. School Sport Clubs in High School

The changes in the numbers of high school students, students
registered with the All Japan High School Athletic Federation (JHAF) andthe Japan High School Baseball Federation (JHBF), as well as students
enrolled in school sport clubs were analyzed. The results show that the
total number of students has decreased by about 3.9% in the last ten years.
On the other hand, the enrollment rate in school sports clubs has increasedby 2.0 percentage points, from 40.9% in 2008 to 42.9% in 2018.
Table 5-2 shows the number of students registered with JHAF
in 2013 and 2018 by sport. In 2018, “Football” had the largest number
with 165,351 registered students (accounting for 21.0% of the total).
This was followed by sport such as “Basketball” with 91,454 students(11.6%), “Track and Field” with 68,733 students (8.7%), “Badminton”
and “Tennis”. For girls, “Volleyball” had the largest number with 58,531
registered students (13.3%), followed by “Basketball” with 57,733
students (13.1%), “Badminton” with 56,350 students (12.8%), “Track and
Field” and “Tennis.”

82 Sport Clubs
Table 5-2 Number of Students Registered in High School Sport
Clubs (Top 10)【Boys】
2013
Rank

2018

Sport
Number of students(%)

Number of students(%)

1

Football158,199

20.4

165,351

21.0

2

Basketball92,623

11.9

91,454

11.6

3

Track and Field

69,385

8.9

68,733

8.7

4

Badminton

50,762

6.5

63,581

8.1

5

Tennis

66,647

8.6

59,696

7.6

6

Table Tennis

48,407

6.2

53,430

6.8

7Soft Tennis

46,615

6.0

47,6986.1

8Volleyball35,597

4.6

46,223

5.9

9

Kyudo (Japanese archery)

33,6294.3

31,581

4.0

10

Handball

29,7103.8

27,131

3.5【Girls】
2013
Rank

2018

Sport
Number of students(%)

Number of students(%)

1Volleyball56,055

12.9

58,531

13.3

2

Basketball60,215

13.9

57,73313.1

3Badminton

54,591

12.6

56,35012.8

4Track and Field

37,346

8.6

39,6509.0

5Tennis36,4748.4

35,071

8.0

6Soft Tennis

34,5878.0

34,564

7.9

7

Kyudo (Japanese archery)

32,9897.6

32,106

7.3

8

Table Tennis

19,466

4.5

22,6805.2

9Softball

22,716

5.2

20,631

4.7

10

Handball

15,0193.5

16,018

3.6

Note: The Ranking are the results from 2018 survey.
All Japan High School Athletic Federation(2013, 2018)

Sport Clubs 83

III. Private Fitness Clubs
1. Trends in Private Fitness Clubs
Market Size

As of the end of December 2018, the market size (in sales) of private
fitness clubs was 478.6 billion yen (a 4.0% increase from the previous year)(Table 5-3). Although some facilities were forced to close temporarily in2018 due to typhoons and other natural disasters, private fitness clubs still
enjoyed the highest increase of the seven years since 2012, when they
began exhibiting continuous growth. This is due to the growth of smaller
fitness club chains that have entered the market since 2005 (Curves Japan,
RIZAP, Fast Fitness Japan, Lava International, etc.) as well as an increasein various boutique fitness studios with clearly defined concepts due tothose newcomers. Major fitness clubs have also been motivated by thesetrends to renovate their existing facilities or create new businesses orservices in order to maintain and expand their revenue. In particular, manyclubs have added hot-yoga studios, 24-hour operations, personal training
and conditioning, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT) programs,
and areas such as swimming schools and contract work for municipalities
and companies have also seen growth. However, there is concern that
intensifying competition in urban areas in response to these market trends
will weaken the ability of general fitness clubs to attract adult members.
Number of Fitness Clubs

As of December 2018, there were a total of 5,818 private fitness
clubs. The gradual increase in new small-scale facilities has impacted thegrowth of this total number in recent years. In terms of the number of new
facilities, 223 were constructed in 2014, 300 in 2015, 301 in 2016, and 378
in 2017, with more facilities opening each year than the year before. The
Table 5-3 Market Trend of Private Fitness Club Industry
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Sales (in millions of yen)

4,316

4,381

4,473

4,602

4,786

Growth rate* (%)

1.8

1.5

2.1

2.9

4.0

*Changes in sales compared to the previous year. The growth rate in 2014 is based on the sales
reached in 2013 (424 billion yen).
Note 1: Estimated by the editorial departments of “Fitness Business” and from the METI “Current
Survey on Selected Service Industries”
Note 2: The above sales do not include facilities with only swimming pools (about 60 million yen) but
do include sales from swimming lessons (for adults and children) offered within sports clubs.
The amount is very low, but sales from boxing gyms are also included.
Note 3: “Other income” related to fitness club management is included.
Fitness Business (2019)84 Sport Clubs

year 2018 saw a large number of new facilities open: 533. Comparing thetypes of those 533 newly established facilities in 2018, we see that 17%
were small-scale tracks, 57% were gyms, 14% were studios, 6% were
gym/studio hybrids, and 6% were general facilities. Gyms were the mostcommon type of new facility, and the majority of those were 24-hour selfservice facilities such as Anytime Fitness and FASTGYM24. At first, thetarget customers of these locations were men in their 20s and 30s who had
been members of fitness clubs in the past; however, this gradually shifted
as the facilities expanded their customer base to include women who had
never been members before as well as people looking for personal training.
Some facilities also built new studios or personal training areas equippedwith systems for displaying video lessons.
Membership

The number of private fitness club members has increased in the last
five years, it reached the highest ever 5.13 million in 2018 which accounts
for 4.07% of the total population of Japan. (Table 5-5). Although the priceof membership fee has exhibited a decreasing trend due to the launch ofdifferent types of clubs offering lower membership fees, it turned over in2014 and even increasing in 2015.
The annual frequency of use per year has stagnated during 2014
Table 5-4 Number of Private Fitness Clubs Facilities
2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Number of facilities

4,375

4,661

4,947

5,299

5,818

Growth rate* (%)

5.1

6.5

6.1

6.9

9.8

*Changes in facilities compared to the previous year. The growth rate in 2014 is based on the numberof facilities in 2013.
Fitness Business (2019)

Table 5-5 Membership and Number of Users in Private Fitness Clubs
2014
Membership
Membership penetration rate (%)

4,193,706

2015

2016

4,214,675 4,243,793

2017

2018

4,627,730

5,136,780

3.30

3.32

3.34

3.65

4.07

Total number of users( in ten thousand)

30,95130,85931,99834,93939,091

Number of users per facilities

70,74566,20764,69565,936

67,190Frequency of use per year

73.8

73.2

75.4

76.5

76.1

Fitness Business (2019)

Sport Clubs 85

and 2015 and it has been increasing for the last three years. The frequent
usage per year had remained at over 73 times per year in 2014 and 2015, it
started increasing in 2016 and recorded 75.4 times per year in 2016. The
rate of membership withdrawal has been decreasing every year.
Profitability

Regarding changes in the revenue of leading private fitness clubs,
in recent years there has been no significant expansion in the profitabilityof clubs that focus primarily on general fitness services, a field whichis led by Konami Sports Club. Market players such as Curves Japan,
RIZAP, Venture Bank, and Tosho who develop multiple locations withclearly defined purposes and target customers are enjoying greater profits
and a higher growth rate. Now in its thirteenth year of operation, Curves
Japan is exhibiting particularly remarkable profitability and growth. The
company’s revenue for the third quarter of 2017 was 27.9 billion yen (ayear-on-year increase of 17.6%), with its gross margin ratio rising from
33.6% to 35.6%. With 1,912 locations and 820,700 members as of Q3
2018, it has clearly established a sizable lead over other companies in theworld of fitness.

86 Sport Clubs

IV. Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs
1. Establishment and Development of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs

A comprehensive community sports club (hereinafter referred to asa “Comprehensive Club”) is a sport club that is independently run by local
residents, usually at a public facility or a school facility that is open to
the public. A comprehensive club has the following features: (a) multicategory (multiple categories of sport are offered so that local residents canchoose the activities they prefer); (b) multi-generation (all age groups canparticipate in a variety of sports); (c) multi-purpose (people can participate
in an activity that is well-suited to their level of skills and purpose). Since
1995, MEXT has been promoting the development of comprehensive
clubs and the Japan Sport Agency has succeeded the measure.
According to the JSA’s “Survey on the Development ofComprehensive Community Sports Clubs” (2018), the number ofcomprehensive clubs has increased by six times over the 10 years since
the beginning of the survey in 2002 (Figure 5-6). The increase observedin 2005 was particularly significant, when the number of clubs almost
doubled from 1,117 clubs in 2004, to 2,115 clubs in 2005. After 2006, theincrease rate remained at around 3-8% when compared to the previous
year. However, in 2013 the increase rate was even lower, growing by only
1% from the previous year. The total number of comprehensive clubs was
3,599, of which 3,445 clubs were operational and 154 clubs were in theprocess of establishment.
The Sport Basic Plan sets out policy goal that aim to continuously
develop at least one comprehensive club in each municipality. Excluding
the local communities with depopulation, 80% of the municipalities acrossthe country now has established comprehensive clubs and it could be said
that they were successful in achieving their goal.
2. Management of Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

The management of comprehensive clubs, such as the numberof members, the financial conditions, and the employment rate of clubmanagers and staff members, can be assessed by “Survey on Comprehensive
Community Sports Clubs”, which has been conducted by MEXT since2003 and transferred to JSA in 2015.
Number of Members

Looking at the number of the comprehensive club members
and the changes observed over the years, the most prevalent size for a

236

635

482

33.0

2005

1,412

22.5

2004

17.4

2003

424

2002

409

13.1
305

541

833

1,117

743

2,155

2006

1,758

2007

2,004

551
48.9

2,555

42.6

658

2,416

2008

2,233

2009

2,425

2010

2,664

64.9 450
480

2,905

57.8
535

2,768

71.4

3,114

2011

2,851

390

75.4

3,241

2012

3,048

348

78.2

3,396

2013

3,237

256

79.0

3,493

2014

3,259

253

80.1

3,512

2015

3,328

222

80.8

3,550

2016

2017

3406

174

80.9

3,580

2018

3445

80.8
154

3,599

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

(%)
90

MEXT (2002 – 2014)
Japan Sports Agency (2015 – 2018)

3,385

197

80.8

3,582

Figure 5-7 Changes in the Number of Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs and the Development Rate

■Number of clubs developing: The total number of those established and under preparation for development.
Development rate: The proportion of municipalities developing Comprehensive Clubs to the total municipalities.

0

500

1,000

1,500

2,000

2,500

3,000

3,500

Established
Under preparation for establishment
Development Rates(Number of Clubs)
4,000Sport Clubs 87

88 Sport Clubs

comprehensive club was 101 to 300 members, accounting for almost
40% of the total since 2005 (41.3% in 2018). Those with 300 or fewer
members have shown a levelling off trend. Clubs with over 1,000 members
accounted for less than 10% of the total (7.5% in 2018).
Budget Size and Internal Revenue Rate

Looking at the budget sizes of each comprehensive club, those that
had a budget of 1.01 million to 4 million yen accounted for around 50%of the total since 2005. However, this group decreased to around 30% in
2011, and clubs with a budget of 10 million or more increased instead.
The survey in 2018 showed the clubs with a budget of 1.01 million to 4
million yen consisted 28.0 %.
Also, looking at the internal revenue rate (based on the ratio ofmembership fees, operating costs and consignment costs compared torevenue) less than half of the comprehensive clubs (28.1%) had a 50%
or lower internal revenue rate in 2018, and in fact this trend has improved
since 2013 (53.6%). In most cases, other income came from government
subsidies or grants. To ensure their sustainable operation, it is necessary thatcomprehensive clubs become more independent in their club management
without the government subsidies or grants.

High Performance Sport 89

Chapter 6
High Performance SportI. Measures for High Performance Sport
1. Enhancement of International CompetitivenessAt the 125th IOC Session held in Buenos Aires in September 2013,
the city of Tokyo was selected to host the 2020 Summer Olympic andParalympic Games. This led to a rapid expansion in the quantity andquality of initiatives to improve athletic performance, with the Japan Sports
Agency’s budget for such projects increasing dramatically from 7.4 billion
yen in 2015 to 10 billion yen in FY2019 (Figure 6-1). These initiatives canbe broadly divided into two categories: (a) foundational reinforcement thatconsists of supporting the improvement activities conducted in a routine
and continuous manner by each sport organization in preparation for
major international competitions, and (b) strategic reinforcement which
involves supporting strategic efforts such as discovering and training thenext generation of athletes who have the potential to succeed at events
such as the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
(in thousand yen)
12,000,000
10,000,000
8,700,000
8,000,000

9,150,000

9,600,000

10,047,000

7,400,000

6,000,000
4,000,000
2,000,000
0

2015

2016

2017

2018

2019 (Year)
JSA(2019)

Figure 6-1 Changes of the National Budget for High PerformanceSport90 High Performance Sport
Fundamental Reinforcement

Foundational reinforcement of initiatives to improve athletic
performance covers three projects: (a) domestic and international training
camps intended to enhance the athletes that represent Japan, such as
members of the national team and athletes who have been designated for
Olympic training; (b) international-exchange projects that aim to gain
practical experience and improve athletic performance through interaction
with top-level athletes and teams worldwide; and (c) initiatives for
improving coaching skills, such as those that assign coaches to oversee
all enhancement activities based on medium- and long-term improvement
plans. According to the JOC, 583 domestic training camps and 164 overseas
training camps were held in FY2017, while 547 domestic training camps
and 167 overseas training camps were held in 2018. The amount spenton these training camps increased from 1.9 billion yen in FY2015 to 2.1
billion yen in FY2018.
As for international-exchange projects in FY2018, 557 of themdispatched teams to foreign countries while 37 of them invited overseas
teams to Japan. Other projects included a Japan-Korea exchange, Olympics
safety projects, and projects for training international referees and otherpersonnel. The amount spent on these projects increased from 2.4 billion
yen in FY2015 to 3.3 billion yen in FY2018.
Regarding the enhancement of coaching, national and assistantnational coaches as well as full-time coaching directors for top athletes,
junior athletes, the NTC, and 2016–2022 special athletes have been
appointed along with full-time medical, science, and data personnel
to improve the enhancement systems for athletes within NFs and train
and enhance top and junior athletes. In addition, top-level coaches fromaround the world have been invited to Japan to introduce their outstanding
coaching methods, and currently serving coaches have been dispatched totraining programs overseas. In 2018, a total of 58 national and assistantnational coaches and 264 full-time coaching directors were appointed. In
terms of costs of projects that improve coaching, 1.5 billion yen was spent
in FY2015 and 1.9 billion yen was spent in FY2018.
Strategic Reinforcement

Strategic reinforcement is comprised of three areas that support thediscovery and training of the next generation of athletes with the potential
to succeed at events such as Tokyo 2020 as well as the training of personnel
who can oversee all initiatives related to high performance; training andenhancing next-generation top athletes; training and networking people

High Performance Sport 91

who can support the improvement of athletic performance; and supporting
the execution of strategic enhancement plans.

92 High Performance Sport

II. Sport Facilities for High Performance Sport
1. The National Training Center

For the purpose of enhancing Japan’s international competitiveness,
the National Training Center (NTC) was opened in 2008 (following the
opening of the track and field training zone in 2007). It is currently the
primary training center responsible for: (a) conducting intensive andcontinuous activities to enhance performance of athletes in a national
team; (b) fostering junior athletes based on athlete development programs;and (c) improving the quality of instructors (national coaches) for highperformance athletes.
The NTC is managed pursuant to the development policies ofcore facilities on a national level specified under the “Basic Plan for
the Promotion of Sports”, that was formulated by MEXT in September
2000. Based on these policies, its management was delegated to JSC. To
ensure success at Tokyo 2020 and improve international competitivenessthereafter, the Indoor Training Center East was constructed in July 2019as an expansion wing of the NTC and opened its doors in September ofthe same year. The project originated from the Support Plan for Enhancing
Future Athletic Performance (2016) as well as the second period of theSport Basic Plan (2017).
2. Japan High Performance Sport Center

In May 2015, MEXT created an expert panel to discuss andconduct a research on a base for sustainable advancement of top athletes
performance for international competitiveness. The panel’s final reportsubmitted in January 2016 identified the Olympic and Paralympic events
as high performance sport based on the Basic Act on Sport (2011) and theSport Basic Plan (2012). The report proposed combining the existing Japan
Institute of Sports Sciences and the National Training Center, which islocated in the Nishigaoka area of Kita Ward in Tokyo, into the Japan High
Performance Center that would serve as a base for athlete enhancement
and research activities. Since 2016, JSC has been teamed up with theJapanese Olympic Committee and Japanese Paralympic Committee tomanage and operate the facilities.
As of September 2019, the HPSC is comprised of the JISS, Indoor
Training Center West, and Indoor Training Center East; it contains
dedicated training facilities for 20 different sports. The JISS provides
dedicated training facilities for rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline,
competitive swimming, and artistic swimming. Indoor Training CenterWest includes dedicated training facilities for competitive gymnastics,

High Performance Sport 93

volleyball, badminton, handball, basketball, judo, boxing, wrestling,weightlifting, tennis, and track-and-field events. The newly built Indoor
Training Center East features dedicated training facilities for swimming,
table tennis, shooting, fencing, and archery.
Expanding the HPSC for joint use by the Olympics and Paralympics

In response to the “Study on Research Sites and the Enhancementof Top Athletes” (2015), the NTC was expanded so that it could be jointly
used by both Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Built in a location next
to the NTC and JISS, the new Indoor Training Center East is designed toorganically link with the features of those facilities. The facility opened
its doors on September 10, 2019, and cost a total of 19.4 billion yen: 14.6
billion yen for the structure itself, 1.6 billion yen for electrical equipment,
and 3.1 billion yen for machinery.
It is a six-story building with a basement floor and contains ashared-use gymnasium (one Taraflex area measuring 42 m × 23 m andthree flooring areas measuring 42 m × 23 m), an archery range (12 targets),a pool for competitive swimming (ten 50-m lanes with a depth of 3 m), ashooting range (five shooting positions at 25 m and 50 m as well as twentyfive positions at 10 m), an area for table tennis (24–28 tables), an area for
fencing (30 pistes and up to 3 finals), a restaurant (96 seats and wheelchair
accessible), and accommodation facilities (32 twin, 12 connecting, 34
single, and 4 Japanese-style rooms).
Usage of the HPSC and Sport Medical and Science Support

After its founding in 2001, JISS has served as a mini-training centerfor the research and support of sport medicine and science while offering
dedicated training facilities for various sport as well as a restaurant (116seats) and accommodation facilities (73-person capacity). When the
NTC was established in early 2008, the training facilities for competitive
gymnastics, wrestling, judo, boxing, and weightlifting were transferredfrom the JISS to the NTC. As a result, the number of people who used
dedicated training facilities at the JISS in 2009 was zero. Starting in 2009,
the number of users from each sport organization who used the dedicatedtraining facilities at the JISS was included in the NTC user total. The
construction of an additional south building (Athlete Village) in May
2011 increased lodging capacity to 190 people; this plus the creation of
two new facilities in 2013—a high-performance gym and a wind-tunnellaboratory—led to over 200,000 users in 2014, a first for the JISS. In
2016, the year of the Rio de Janeiro Olympic and Paralympic Games, the94 High Performance Sport

number of users temporarily declined. In 2018, the number of JISS users
was 34,286 and the number of NTC users was 176,384 (Figure 6-2). That
year also saw the highest participation ever in the JISS Sports Scienceand Medicine Support Program, with 2,104 medical checkups and 2,271
fitness checkups performed.
Regarding usage by Paralympic athletes, a research and support
program for medicine and science was conducted on a trial basis for highperforming disabled athletes based on studies and research performed in
the two-year period between 2012 and 2013 as well as a 2014 projectfor building a foundational support structure for Paralympic athletes,
all of which were undertaken at the JISS for the purpose of supporting
Paralympic athletes. Following that, 10 medical checks were performed in2015, 8 checks in 2016, 10 checks in 2017, and 12 checks in 2018. Fitness
checks also increased year over year, going from 26 in 2015 to 34 in 2016,
53 in 2017, and 70 in 2018.
3. Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities

To improve Japan’s international performance in sport by providing
locations where athletes can conduct training and enhancement activities ina continuous and focused manner, the Japan Sports Agency has designatedEvent-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities for activities
which are not available at the HPSC alone, which include winter sport,
open-water and waterfront sport, outdoor sport, Paralympic sport, andhigh-altitude training. These designations are made by selecting existing
facilities within communities based on the Guidelines on Event-SpecificAffiliated National Training Center Facilities (2007–2019).
In conjunction with the transfer of Paralympics-related projects from
the MHLW to MEXT, the HPSC has been working to integrate its facility
so that it can be jointly used by Olympic and Paralympic athletes. Joint
usage and effective application among the Olympics and Paralympics andwith other sport has also been sought from NTC reinforcement sites, with
Olympic sites being designated since April 2007 and Paralympic sites
since April 2014. Three new reinforcement sites related to skiing were
designated in Miyagi, Aomori, and Nagano on July 30, 2019, and as of
October 1, 2019, a total of 41 facilities have been designated, including
15 for winter sport, 4 for open-water and waterfront sport, 13 for outdoor
sport, 2 for high-altitude training, and 7 for indoor sport. (Table 6-1)
During the designation process, the JSA first selects the target sport
by conferring with the JOC and JPC regarding matters such as the need fordomestic sites, then appeals to facilities and reviews them. Facilities are0

50,000100,000

150,000

200,000

2002

30,377(Number of Users)
250,000

2003

28,452

2005

30,3092006

29,8292007

25,6082008

10,800112,1312009

0

154,164

2010

33,211

167,7222011

25,865

174,425

2012

26,798

175,446

2014

34,760206,0142015

32,875

193,423

2016

27,394

161,4292017

33,103173,0032018(Year)

34,286

176,384

Annual Report of Japan Institute of Sports Sciences (JSA, 2002-2018)2013

32,655

195,035

Figure 6-2 Number of Usage for High Performance Sport Center

2004

27,567NTC Users

JISS Users

High Performance Sport 95

96 High Performance Sport

generally designated for a four-year period to align with the Olympic andParalympic cycle. Summer-sport facilities that have been designated asof 2018 will be contracted through the end of March 2021, while wintersport facilities (with the exception of skating events) will be contracted
through the end of March 2022. The designation period may be extended
as a temporary measure until a new NTC reinforcement site is selectedbased on the wishes of the JOC, JPC, and NF, if consent is obtained fromthat designated facility. Also, the installation personnel and designatedadministrators of NTC event-specific training sites perform the contract
work entrusted by the JSA under its “Event-Specific Affiliated National
Training Center Facilities Functional Enhancement Project”. From 2007
to 2010, the JSA conducted its Enhancement Project, which focused on
preparing equipment at existing facilities. Then in 2011, it transitioned
to the NTC Reinforcement-Site Facility Usage Project, which aimed toachieve effective usage of the prepared facilities. Since 2019, the JSA has
implemented its NTC Functional Enhancement Project to augment sites
so that they can effectively perform enhancement activities based on thestrategic enhancement plans formulated by the NFs (Table 6-1).

Join Use

Paralympic Sport

Olympic Sport

Join Use

Paralympic Sport

Olympic Sport

Short Track Speed Skating
Figure Skating
Ice Hockey
Biathlon
Bobsleigh & Luge
Curling
Biathlon
Para Ice Hockey
Alpine Skiing, Snowboard (Parallel Giant Slalom)Para Alpine Skiing
Sailing
RowingCanoe Slalom
FootballHockeyClay Target Shooting
Rugby
Golf
Modern Pentathlon
Beach Volleyball
Track and Field
Wheelchair Tennis
Football 5-a-side
Wheelchair Basketball
BocciaPowerlifting
Sitting VolleyballGaolballWheelchair Fencing
Canoe Sprint, Para Canoe
Cycling
Triathlon
Taekwondo
Equestrian

Speed SkatingSport
Ski Jumping
Nordic CombinedFreestyle Skiing (Slopestyle, Big Air), Snowboard (Slopestyle, Big Air)Freestyle Skiing (Halfpipe), Snowboard (Halfpipe)* Newly designated on the 30th July 2019.
As of October, 2019.

High Altitude Training

Summer Sport

Winter Sport

Category

Wakayama
SaitamaToyamaOsaka
Gifu
Kanagawa
SaitamaMiyazakiKanagawa
Kanagawa
Wakayama
Fukuoka
Chiba
Chiba
Osaka
Kyoto
Hyogo
Saitama
Kyoto
Ishikawa
Shizuoka
Miyazaki
Gifu
Shizuoka
Gifu
Yamagata
Japan Sports Agency (2019)

NaganoWakayama Sailing Center “Dinghy Marina”
Toda Park Boat Course & Toda Boathouse
Toyama City Sports Canoe Center
J-Green Sakai
Kawasaki Heavy Industries Hockey Stadium
Kanagawa Prefectual Isehara Shooting Range
Kumagaya Sports Culture Park
Phoenix Seagaia Resort
Nippon Sport Science University - Tokyo Setagaya Campus
Kawasaki Marien
Tanabe Sports Park
Chikuho Heights
ZOZOPARK HONDA FOOTBALL AREA
Chiba Port Arena
Osaka City MAISHIMA Sports Center for Persons with Disabilities
Kyoto Prefectual Welfare Center for People with Mental and Physical Disabilities
Himeji City Hall Annex
Tokorozawa Municipal Gymnasium
Former Kyoto City Sanno Elementary School
Lake Kiba Canoe Sprint Course
Japan Cycle Sports Center
Phoenix Seagaia Resort
Hashima Disaster Prevention Station
Gotenba Horsemanship and Sports Center
Hida Ontake Kougen highland sports training area
Zao Bodaira Athlete Village

Location
Hokkaido
NaganoMiyagi
Aomori
NaganoHokkaido
NaganoAichi
Hokkaido
Hokkaido
NaganoNaganoIwate
NaganoSugadaira Pinebeak Snow Park *Facilities
Sapporo Jump Stadium “Okurayama, Miyanomori”
Hakuba Ski Jumping Stadium/Hakuba Crosscountry Stadium
Tohoku Quest *Aomori Spring Ski Resort *Nagano Olympic Memorial Arena “M-Wave”
Meiji Hokkaido Tokachi Oval
Teisan Ice Skate Training Center
Chukyo University “Aurora hall”
Tomakomai City Hakucho Arena
Nishioka Biathlon Stadium
Nagano Bobsleigh Luge Park “The Spiral”
Karuizawa Kazakoshi Park Arena Curling Stadium “Karuizawa Ice Park”
Tayama Shooting Range
Yamabiko Skating Complex

Table 6-1 Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities

High Performance Sport 97

98 Column

Sport For Tomorrow
Sport for Tomorrow (SFT) is an international contribution andexchange program that the government is using to promote citizen
involvement through sport as Tokyo prepares to host the 2020 Olympic
Games. It develops initiatives to communicate the value of sport to people of
all generations around the globe, to expand the Olympics and Paralympics
movement, and to create a better world through the power of sport. During
the seven-year period between 2014 and 2020, SFT has worked to promoteinternational cooperation and exchange to over 10 million people acrossat least 100 countries (with a focus on developing nations) as it builds
sites for cultivating sport-related human resources on a global scale andsupports the reinforcement of international anti-doping systems. Prime
Minister Abe announced the SFT concept during his bid speech for the
Tokyo Olympics at the IOC general meeting held in September 2013.
Solid implementation of SFT is one of Japan’s international commitments.
SFT is managed by a consortium made up of members who endorse
the goals of SFT as well as a steering committee led by the Ministryof Foreign Affairs and the Japan Sports Agency. The SFT consortium
was established in August 2014, and its initial steering committee wascomprised of 10 organizations: MEXT (currently handled by the JapanSports Agency), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the JSC, the JOC, the Japan
Para-Sports Association, the Japan Anti-Doping Agency, the University ofTsukuba, the Tokyo Organizing Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic
Games, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), and the JapanFoundation. This number was later expanded to 14 through the addition of
the Japan Amateur Sports Association (now the Japan Sports Association),
the Rugby World Cup 2019 Organizing Committee, the Japan External
Trade Organization (JETRO), and the World Masters Games 2021 Kansai
Organizing Committee. The role of the steering committee is to review
applications from new members and to approve authorized projects; it ischaired by the Japan Sports Agency, with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
serving as vice-chair. The JSC oversees the administrative office.
Consortium members are domestic organizations such as national
governing bodies of sport and other sport-related associations, NPOs
and NGOs, private companies, universities, and municipal governments.
While there were only 53 member organizations in 2014, the number hadballooned to 439 by the end of September 2019. At that time, sports-relatedorganizations made up 30% of the total (134 organizations), followed by

Column 99

private companies (108), NGOs and NPOs (99), and universities (23).
To become a member, organizations must have one of the following:(a) accomplishments related to international contribution and exchange
via sport, (b) future initiatives related to international contribution andexchange via sport, or (c) opportunities or information that is related
to international contribution via sport and can be provided to the SFT
consortium. SFT has no system for paying subsidies to members, and it
does not require its members to pay yearly dues or other fees. Members
can also disseminate information about their activities through the SFT
website and social-media accounts, seek collaboration on SFT-related
activities via member mailing lists, browse the member database, andexpand their networks by participating in member gatherings.
As of September 2019, about 5,500 projects have been implemented,
most of which are government-related projects such as those of JICA, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs, and the Japan Sports Agency. To encourage
SFT activities, there is also a system by which members projects areapproved as authorized projects by the steering committee. Authorized
projects can use the SFT logo and banner, and there have been over 500
such projects thus far.
Regarding the SFT’s target of more than 10 million people in over
100 nations, the latter metric was soon achieved due to the diplomatic
missions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the activities of JICA
volunteers across a great number of countries. Figure 7-1 indicates thenumber of beneficiaries over time. The goal of 10 million people has been
understood to be the number of beneficiaries of those programs, but it
only includes people in abroad. At the close of 2014, the first year of SFT,
there were 520,000 beneficiaries; but this rapidly increased to 3.48 million
in 2016 and 6.64 million in 2017, finally breaking the 10-million mark at
the end of September 2019. One of the primary drivers of the program’s
success was the fact that students and children in countries like Myanmar
and Cambodia were counted as beneficiaries due to programs that assistedwith physical-education curricula as well as the professional developmentof teachers of physical education. Also, authorized projects conductedby the SFT consortium members generated 1.25 million beneficiaries.
Viewed by region, Asia had the most beneficiaries and projects by a
substantial margin, followed by Africa then Central and South America.
Many projects were implemented in Oceania and Pacific Island countries,
although they did not produce many beneficiaries.
The SFT exists to promote sport and to improve international
competitiveness of sport, to change the world through the power of100 Column

sport (peace and development), and to make sport participation part of
the national culture. Its projects primarily involve supporting physicaleducation, providing sport equipment, dispatching volunteers and otherpersonnel, interacting with oversea teams, hosting events and tournaments,
holding forums and seminars, disseminating materials that convey thevalue of sports, and preparing facilities.
(Number of People)
12,000,000
Total Beneficiaries

10,000,000

9,639,949

Beneficiaries for the SFT
Consortium Member Projects

10,019,456

8,000,000
6,643,308
6,000,000

4,000,000

2,000,000
524,065
2,989
0
2014
As of September 2019.

3,483,722

1,096,000
78,564
2015

513,723
2016

1,054,726

1,231,622

1,253,022

2017

2018

2019

Sport For Tomorrow (2019)

Figure C-1 Number of Beneficiaries for Sport For Tomorrow Projects

Figures
1-1
1-2
1-3
2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
2-5
2-6
2-7
2-8
2-9
2-10
2-11
3-1
3-2
3-3
5-1
5-2
5-3
5-4
5-5
5-6
5-7
6-1
6-2
C-1

Sport Administration Structure in Japan
6
Organization Chart of Japan Sports Agency
8
Trends in the National Sport Budget
15
Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
20
Rates of Sport Participation for Children Aged 4-11 years
27
Frequency Levels of Participation for Children Aged
4-11 years (By Gender and By School Year)
27
Rates of Sport Participation for Young People Aged 12-21 years 31
Rates of Sport Participation for Young People Aged 12-21 years(By Gender and By School Year)
32
Number of Public and Private Sport Facilities in Japan
37
Rates of Adult Spectating Live Sport Events
39
Rates of Adult Spectating Live Sport Events(By Gender and By Age)
40
Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Adults (By Gender)
43
Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Adults (By Age Group) 44
Rates of Volunteering in Sport among Young People Aged
12-21 years (By Gender)45
Number of Days that Adults Participated in Sport or
Recreation in the past year
47
Number of Days Disabled Children and Young People Aged
7-19 Participated in Sport and Recreation in the past year
50
Number of Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority
Access for People with Disability by Categories
53
Membership of Sport Clubs
72
Trends in the Rate of Sport Club Memberships
73
Types of Sport Clubs
74
Membership in Sport Clubs among Children Aged
4-11 years (2019)77
Membership in Sport Clubs among Young People Aged
12-21 years (2019)78
Types of Sport Clubs for Young People Aged
12-21 years (Multiple Answers)
79
Changes in the Number of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs and the Development Rate
87
Changes of the National Budget for High Performance Sport
89
Number of Usage for High Performance Sport Center
95
Number of Beneﬁciaries for Sport For Tomorrow Projects
100Tables
2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
2-5
2-6
2-7
2-8

2-9
2-10
2-11
2-12
2-13
2-14
2-15
2-16
3-1
3-2

3-3
3-4
4-1

Levels of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
19
Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities(By Gender)
21
Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities(By Age)
22
Rates of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities(By Types of Sport)
24
Number of Registered Players and Estimated Participants
25
Categories of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
for Children Aged 4-11 years
26
Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-11 years (At Least Once a Year)
28
Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-11 years(Those Who “ Often Participated in ” By Gender)
29
Levels of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 12-21 years
30
Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 12-21 years (At Least Once a Year)
33
Ranking of Participation in Sport and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 12-21 years (Often Participated in)34
Number of Public Sport Facilities and School Sport Facilities
by Facility Types
38
Popular Spectator Sport (Multiple Answers)
40
Number of Spectators for Professional Sport
41
Types of Volunteering in Sport (Multiple Answers)
45
Types of Volunteering in Sport by Young People Aged
12-21 years (Multiple Answers)
46
Participation in Sport and Recreation for the past year
by Disability Types (n = 2,755 Adults; Multiple Answers)
49
Sport and Recreation Participation for the past year
by Disability Type (n = 783 Disabled Children and Young People
Aged 7–19; Multiple Answers)
51
Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for Disabled
People with more than 100,000 users (2015 - 2017)55
Event Speciﬁc Aﬃliated National Training Center Facilities
for Paralympics
58
Number of Staﬀ Members in National Governing Bodies
of Sport
63

4-2
4-3
4-4
4-5
4-6
5-1
5-2
5-3
5-4
5-5
6-1

Number of Employees in Sport Industries
Number of University Students and Faculty Members
in Physical Education and Sport Departments
Number of Registered JSPO Certiﬁed Sports Instructors
Number of Registered JSPO Certiﬁed Sports Instructors
per Sport
Number of Registered JPSA Certiﬁed Sports Instructor
Qualiﬁcations
Number of Students Registered in Junior High School
Sport Clubs (Top 10)
Number of Students Registered in High School Sport Clubs(Top 10)Market Trend of Private Fitness Club Industry
Number of Private Fitness Clubs Facilities
Membership and Number of Users in Private Fitness Clubs
Event-Speciﬁc Aﬃliated National Training Center Facilities

65
66
68
70
71
80
82
83
84
84
97

Picture Credits
Cover Photo:
Top: Japan Sport Council
Bottom Right: “ More Enjoy Fencing ” Japan Fencing Federation
Page 18: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 35: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 59: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1998
Page 91: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2004

White Paper on Sport in Japan

2020