Overview

Table of Contents

1 Introduction
In order to understand the level of participation in sports and physical activities by Japanese,
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. Thissurvey measures the number of people aged 18 and over taking part in sports and physicalactivities across Japan in terms of frequency, duration and intensity. People take part in sports
and physical activity in diﬀerent ways, with many doing a range of activities including sports
spectating, sports volunteering.

2 Survey design1）Population: People aged 18 and over who live in Japan
2）Sample size: 3,000
3）Number of locations: 300 (89 in metro areas; 122 in cities with a population of over 100,000
people; 64 in cities with a population of less than 100,000 people; 25 in towns and villages)
4）Extracting method: Quota method

3 Survey period■ Levels of sports and physical activities■ Types of sports and physical activities■ Sports clubs■ Sports spectating■ Sports volunteering

1
2
4
6
8
12

Description of terms● Range of sports and physical activities

This survey measures a wide range of sporting activities including fitness
activities, Strolling/Walking/Cycling for leisure or travel and dance.
The school PE classes were excluded whilst sports club activities at schools
and workplaces were included.

August 28th - September 23rd, 2020

4 Survey methods
Leaving method:
The survey oﬃcial visits the respondent, distributing the paper-based questionnaire andhaving the respondent ﬁll out the survey within a certain period. The survey oﬃcial thenreturns to the respondent to collect the survey.

5 Survey sample
3,000（Male : 1,493, Female : 1,507）
18・19 years old 72（Male : 37, Female : 35）
20-29
377（Male : 193, Female : 184）
30-39
458（Male : 235, Female : 223）
40-49
591（Male : 301, Female : 290）
50-59
503（Male : 253, Female : 250）
60-69
522（Male : 256, Female : 266）
70 and over477（Male : 218, Female : 259）

The 2020 SSF National Sports-Life Survey■ Annual changes in sports and physical activities

Date
Produced by
Published by● Estimated participants

Estimated sports participants are calculated by applying the rate of regularsports and physical activities participation over the past year to the total
population of those 18 and over (105,750,654 people in Japan).
● Level of participation in sports and physical activities

In this survey, the participation in sports and physical activities are divided
into the following levels; “Level 0” for those who did not participate in any
sports or physical activities for the past year; “Level 1” for those who
participated at least once during the year, but less than twice a week; “Level2” for those who participated at least twice a week; “Level 3” for those who
participated at least twice a week with 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”, and with more than moderate intensity.

31 Dec. 2020
Kazutoshi Watanabe
Sasakawa Sports Foundation
1-2-2 Akasaka Minato-ku, Tokyo 107-0052 Japan
Phone. +81‑3‑6229‑5300 FAX. +81‑3‑6229‑5340
URL https://www.ssf.or.jp Email data@ssf.or.jp

Printed by
Cover Designed by

Nihon Publicity Co.,Ltd.
Atsuhiko Sanbongi©Sasakawa Sports Foundation, 2020 Printed in Japan

Annual changes in sports and physical activities
Annual changes in sports and physical activities
At least once a year

（%）
100

At least once a week

At least twice a week

Active sports participant

90
80

65.9

70
60
50

50.9

40.6

40
30

31.5
23.7

20
10
0

51.4

16.1
6.6

1992

21.7
7.6

1994

65.7
45.4
35.2

70.7
51.4
40.8

68.0
49.7
40.0

73.4
55.4
45.3

68.3
51.5
41.9

72.1
56.4
45.5

76.0

74.4

73.7

72.4

74.0

73.3

59.0

59.1

57.2

56.0

57.9

59.5

49.1

49.3

47.5

45.1

47.8

49.9

27.8
9.1
1996

13.0
1998

17.6
2000

13.3
2002

16.1

15.9

17.4

18.4

20.0

18.7

19.6

20.7

22.1

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

2014

2016

2018

2020（year）（n=1,640）（n=1,596）（n=1,571）（n=2,322）（n=2,232）（n=2,267）（n=2,288）（n=1,867）（n=2,000）（n=2,000）（n=2,000）（n=2,000）（n=3,000）（n=3,000）（n=3,000）
Note 1 : Until 2014, the survey targeted people aged 20 years and over; starting in 2016, it targeted those aged 18 years and over.
Note 2 : Active sports participant are Level 4 people (those who participated for at least 30 minutes twice a week at moderate intensity or greater).

73.3% of people participated in sports and physical activities at least once in 2020.

The percentage of people who participate at least once a week has risen since 1992, from 23.7% to 59.5% in 2020.
Similarly, the percentage for participation at least twice a week in 2020 was 49.9%, continuing its climb from the 16.1%
recorded in 1992.
The number of active sports participants was at an all-time high of 22.1%.

1

Levels of sports and physical activities
Definition of levels
Level

Definition

Level 0For the past year,
no sports/physical activities at all

Level 1

At least once a 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,at least 30 min at a time

Level 4At least twice a week, at least 30 min
at a time, moderate intensity at leastslightly hard(Active Sports
Participant)Levels of sports and physical activities

Level 422.1%

23.37 million estimatedparticipants

Level 317.8%

18.82 million
estimatedparticipants

Level 210.0%

Level 026.7%

28.24 million estimatedparticipants

Level 1

23.4%

24.75 million
estimatedparticipants

10.58 million
estimated participantsNote: The estimated number of participants was calculated by multiplying
the total population of individuals aged 18 and over (105,750,654 people
according to the basic resident register as of January 1, 2019) by thepercentage for each participation level.

26.7% of people (28.24 million) were Level 0, meaning that they did not participate
in sports and physical activities at all in the past year. 23.4% of people (24.75
million) were Level 1, 10.0% (10.58 million) were Level 2, and 17.8% (18.82 million)
were Level 3. 22.1% of people (23.37 million) were Level 4, meaning that they
participated with the most frequency and intensity.

2

Levels of sports andphysical activities：By gender
Level 0Level 1

Level 2

Level 3

Levels of sports andphysical activities：By age
Level 4

Level 0

18-19

18.1

(n=72)

Male

23.9(n=1,493)

29.4 18.6 11.3 20.6 20.1
20

40

60

80

100
（%）

47.8% of males and 52.0% of females participated in sports and physicalactivities at least twice a week (Level 2 or greater), with females holding a higher
percentage by 4.2points.
23.9% of males and 29.4% of females did not participate in sports and physicalactivities at all (Level 0), with females holding a higher percentage by 5.5points.

43.1
6.9 11.7

24.1

30-39

25.8

27.7

11.4 15.5

19.7

40-49

24.7

32.0

11.8 13.5

17.9

50-59

27.6

24.1

11.3 16.1

20.9

60-69

28.5

19.5 7.9

70 and over

26.4

(n=503)(n=522)(n=477)0

18.1 8.3 12.5

Level 428.4

(n=591)(n=1,507)

Level 328.9

(n=458)

FemaleLevel 220-29

(n=377)28.3 8.7 15.0 24.1

Level 1

0

20

21.6

9.2 10.1

28.5

40

60

22.4
25.8
80

100
（%）

Of the people who participated in sports and physical activities at least twice a week
(Level 2 or greater), 63.9% were aged 18–19, 42.7% were in their 20-29, 46.6%
were in their 30-39, 43.2% were in their 40-49, 48.3% were in their 50-59,
51.9% were in their 60-69, and 64.4% were in their 70 and over.
The percentage of people who participated at least twice a week increased alongwith the percentage of people in their 40s and over who participated.

3

Types of sports and physical activities
Types of sports andphysical activities：By gender

Types of sports and physical activities
Total (n=3,000)
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20

Types of sports
Strolling
Walking
Calisthenics and light exercises
Weight training
Jogging and Running
Fishing
Bowling
Cycling
Golf on a course
Jumping rope
Golf practice on a driving range
Playing catch
Swimming
Yoga
Badminton
Sea bathing
Mountaineering
HikingTable tennis
FootballParticipation
（％）
rate

32.9
28.3
19.4
18.0
10.6
7.8
6.8
6.6
6.4
6.3
5.9
5.5
5.4
5.2
5.1
4.8
4.5
4.2
4.1
3.9

Estimated participants（in 10,000s）

3,479
2,993
2,052
1,904
1,121
825
719
698
677
666
624
582
571
550
539
508
476
444
434
412

Note: The estimated number of participants was calculated by multiplying the total
population of individuals aged 18 and over (105,750,654 people according to thebasic resident register as of January 1, 2019 in Japan) by the percentage for eachparticipation level.

Of the sports and physical activities performed in the past year, “Strolling” came in firstplace at 32.9% (34.79 million people), followed by “Walking” in second place at
28.3% (29.93 million people), “Calisthenics and light exercises” in third place at
19.4% (20.52 million people), “Weight training” in fourth place at 18.0% (19.04
million people), and “Jogging and Running” in fifth place at 10.6% (11.21 million people).

4

Male (n=1,493)
Rank

Types of sports

1

Strolling

2

Walking3

Weight training

4

Jogging andRunning5

Fishing6

Calisthenics andlight exercises

7

Golf on a course

8

Golf practice ona driving range

9

Bowling
Cycling

Participation Rank
rate （％）

28.1
26.5
19.4
15.3
13.3
13.1
11.5
10.0
8.6
8.6

Female (n=1,507)
Types of sports

1

Strolling

2

Walking3

Calisthenics andlight exercises

4

Weight training

5

Yoga

6

Jumping rope

7

Jogging andRunning8

Badminton

9

Swimming

10 BowlingParticipation
rate （％）

37.6
30.1
25.7
16.5
9.4
8.0
5.9
5.6
5.2
5.0

Among females, participation in “Strolling”, “Walking”, “Calisthenics and light
exercises”, and “Weight training” was high.
For males, participation in those four activities as well as “Jogging and Running”,“Fishing”, “Golf on a course”, and “Golf practice on a driving range” all exceeded 10%.

Types of sports and physical activities：By age
18‑19（n=72）
Rank

Types of sports

1
2
3
4
5

Weight training
Strolling
Jogging and Running
Walking
Bowling
FootballPlaying catch
Badminton
Calisthenics and light exercises
Baseball68
10

50‑59（n=503）
Rank

Types of sports

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Strolling
Walking
Calisthenics and light exercises
Weight training
Jogging and Running
Golf on a course
Golf practice on a driving range
Cycling
Mountaineering
Yoga

9Participation Rankrate（％）

34.7
33.3
25.0
20.8
19.4
18.1
18.1
16.7
16.7
15.3

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

10

Participation Rankrate（％）

35.4
29.8
20.1
18.1
11.5
8.5
7.4
7.2
6.8
6.8

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

20‑29（n=377）
Types of sports
Strolling
Weight training
Walking
Jogging and Running
Bowling
Calisthenics and light exercises
Fishing
FootballPlaying catch
Badminton
Sea bathing

60‑69（n=522）
Types of sports
Walking
Strolling
Calisthenics and light exercises
Golf on a course
Weight training
Golf practice on a driving range
Fishing
HikingCycling
Mountaineering

Participation Rankrate（％）

30.0
29.7
20.7
17.8
13.0
9.8
9.3
9.0
8.8
7.7
7.7

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
9

Participation Rankrate（％）

34.7
32.2
22.6
10.5
10.2
9.0
5.9
5.7
4.4
4.4

1
2
3
4
5
6

8
9
10

30‑39（n=458）
Types of sports
Strolling
Weight training
Walking
Calisthenics and light exercises
Jogging and Running
Jumping rope
Bowling
Swimming
Fishing
Playing catch
Sea bathing

Participation Rankrate（％）

34.1
23.1
20.3
17.0
14.2
12.0
9.2
9.2
8.7
8.7
8.7

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10

40‑49（n=591）
Types of sports
Strolling
Walking
Weight training
Calisthenics and light exercises
Jogging and Running
Jumping rope
Fishing
Cycling
Badminton
Playing catch

Participationrate（％）

30.1
25.2
16.2
16.1
12.5
10.8
10.7
9.5
9.3
7.4

70 and over（n=477）
Types of sports
Walking
Strolling
Calisthenics and light exercises
Weight training
Ground golf
Golf on a course
HikingFishing
Golf practice on a driving range
Yoga

Participationrate（％）

38.4
35.6
29.8
11.7
6.9
6.1
6.1
5.9
5.2
5.0

Participation in “Strolling” and “Weight training” ranked high for people in their 18-19 until 30s, while “Strolling” and “Walking” were the first and second
place for over 40s age group. Team sports such as “Football”, “Basketball”, “Baseball” and “Volleyball” were took up by younger generation. “Jogging andRunning” for those 30s to 50s, “Golf on a course” and “Golf practice at a driving range” for those over 50s ranked in top 10 sports and physical activities.

5

Sports clubs
Sports club membership：Total and by gender
Currently member

Formerly member

Never joinedSports club membership：By age
Currently member

Total 17.3

24.2

58.5

9.7

41.7

20-29

13.3

27.1

59.6

30-39

12.9

23.0

64.1

40-49

13.6

21.2

65.3

50-59

19.6

26.3

54.1

60-69

17.6

27.0

55.4

(n=376)(n=457)

Male 17.8(n=1,488)

24.5

Female 16.9

23.9

(n=590)57.7(n=501)(n=1,504)

59.2(n=522)70 and over

28.1

(n=474)

0

20

40

60

80

100
（%）

17.3% of people are members of sports clubs, 24.2% are former members ofsports clubs, and 58.5% have never joined sports clubs.
In terms of gender, 17.8% of males and 16.9% of females are members of sports
clubs.
This difference of 0.9points between males and females has narrowed since the firstsurvey was conducted in 1992, when the gap was 8.6points.

6

Never joined

18-19(n=72)(n=2,992)

Formerly member

0

48.6

18.8
20

40

53.2
60

80

100
（%）

The rate of sports club membership of the people over the age of 70 (28.1%) was
the highest, followed by those aged 50-59 (19.6%), those in their 60-69 (17.6%),
and those in their 40-49 (13.6%).
Those who are “Currently member“ was uplifeted after 50s and the rate showed asignificant increase by people in thier 70 and over.

Types of sports clubs：Total and by gender
Community groups and clubs
Workplace clubs

Private clubs

Alumni clubs

Friends and acquaintances' clubs

OthersTypes of sports clubs：By age
Community groups and clubs
Workplace clubs

18-19

Total

（n=519）

34.9

20-29

3.7
Male

（n=265）32.1

14.7 6.4 11.7

31.3

Female（n=254）

37.8

36.2

0.8
0

20

40

60

80

100
（%）

The rate of membership in “Community groups and clubs” was the highest at 34.9%,
followed by “Private clubs” at 25.2% and “Friends and acquaintances' clubs” at 25.0%.
Among males, membership in “Community groups and clubs” was the highest at 32.1%,
followed by “Friends and acquaintances' clubs” at 31.3% and “Private clubs” at 14.7%.
Among females, membership in “Community groups and clubs” was the highest at 37.8%,
followed by “Private clubs” at 36.2% and “Friends and acquaintances’ clubs” at 18.5%.

44.0

12.0

20.3

10.2 10.2

25.4

40-49

32.5

16.3

8.8 12.5

28.8

24.5

37.8

50-59

(n=98)

42.4(n=92)

3.5

18.0 4.04.0

28.8

60-69

3.1 18.5

14.3

30-39

(n=59)(n=80)

3.8

Others57.1

18.0(n=50)

Alumni clubs

Friends and acquaintances' clubs

28.6

(n=7)

25.2 4.86.4 25.0

Private clubs

70 and over

27.2

49.6

(n=133)020

4.1 11.2

40

20.4
20.7

2.2 2.2

26.3
60

5.1

1.5 1.5
80

20.3

1.3
2.0

5.4
0.8
100
（%）

The rate of membership in “Friends and acquaintances’ clubs” was the highest among theyounger age groups— 57.1% for those aged 18–19 and 44.0% for those in their 20-29.
The membership rate in “Workplace clubs” for people in their 30-39, 40-49, and 50-59
was almost at the same level (10.2 - 12.5%).
Starting with the 50-59 age group, membership in “Community groups and clubs”
increased as age increased—24.5% for those in their 50-59, 42.4% for those in
their 60-69, and 49.6% for those over the age of 70.

7

Sports spectating
Live sports spectating：Total and by genderLive sports spectating：By age

18-19

30.6

(n=72)

Total

20-29

21.8

(n=3,000)

23.1(n=377)

30-39

20.7

(n=458)

Male

24.1

(n=1,493)

40-49

27.2

50-59

28.2

(n=591)(n=503)

Female19.4(n=1,507)

60-69

13.8

70 and over

15.5

(n=522)(n=477)

0

20

40
（%）

The percentage of people who attended a live sporting event at a stadium or arenain the past year was 21.8%. In terms of gender, 24.1% of males and 19.4% offemales attended a live sporting event, a difference of 4.7points.
This trend of males attending live sporting events more than females has remained
unchanged since this survey item was added in 1994.

8

0

20

40
（%）

Live sports spectating was the highest for people aged 18–19 (30.6%), followed bythose in their 50-59 (28.2%) and those in their 40-49 (27.2%).
This trend of a high percentage for these three age groups attending live sporting
events was seen in the past surveys.

Live spectator sports types：By genderLive spectator sports types
Total (n=3,000)
Rank

Types of sports

1

①

②

③

Frequency Estimated annual
Attendance Estimatedrate （%） spectators （times/year） total（①×②）（in 10,000s）（in 10,000s）

Professional
baseball (NPB※)

9.6 1,015

2.48 2,517

2Professional
football(J League)

3.3

349

2.85

995

3

High-school
baseball

2.8

296

2.94

870

4

Marathon andEkiden road relay

1.6

169

1.28

216

5

Football(High-school,
University, JFL, etc.)

1.4

148

6.51

963

Note: The estimated number of participants was calculated by multiplying the total
population of individuals aged 18 and over (105,750,654 people according to thebasic resident register as of January 1, 2019 in Japan) by the percentage of eachattendance level.
※NPB :Nippon Professional Baseball“Professional baseball (NPB)” had the highest attendance rate at 9.6%.
It was followed by “Professional football (J League)” at 3.3%, “High-school
baseball” at 2.8%, and “Marathon and Ekiden road relay” at 1.6%.

Male (n=1,491)

Types of sports

Attendance
rate （%）

1Professional
baseball (NPB※)

7.6

4.0

2

Professional
football(J League)

2.8

Professional
football(J League)

3.9

3High-school
baseball

1.7

Football(High-school,
University, JFL, etc.)

1.6

4Marathon andEkiden road relay

1.5

Marathon andEkiden road relay

1.6

5

Basketball(High-school,
University, WJBL, etc.)

1.4

Rank

Types of sports

1

Professional
baseball (NPB※)

2

High-school
baseball3

4

Female (n=1,509)
Attendance
Rankrate （%）

11.7※NPB : Nippon Professional BaseballFor both male and female, “Professional baseball (NPB)” had the highest attendance
rate (11.7% for males and 7.6% for females).
This was followed by “High-school baseball” in the case of males (4.0%), and“Professional football (J League)” in the case of females (2.8%).
Also, “Marathon and Ekiden road relay” ranked highly among both male (1.6%) andfemale (1.5%).

9

Sports spectating
Live spectator sports types：By age
18‑19（n=72）
Rank

Types of sports

Professional baseball（NPB※）
1
Professional football（J League）

3

High-school baseball4

Basketball（High-School,
University, WJBL, etc.）
Football（High-School,
University, JFL, etc.）

550‑59（n=503）
Rank

1
2

Types of sports
Professional baseball（NPB※）
High-school baseballProfessional football（J League）
Marathon and
4
Ekiden road relay
Football（High-School,
5
University, JFL, etc.）

3

Attendance Rank
rate （％）

20‑29（n=377）
Types of sports

Professional baseball（NPB※）
Professional football
2（J League）

Attendance Rank
rate （％）

11.9

9.7

1

8.3

3

High-school baseball4

Volleyball（High-school,
University, V League, etc.）
Marathon andEkiden road relay
Rugby（High-school,
University, Top League, etc.）

9.7
6.9
4.2

5

Attendance Rank
rate （％）

11.9
4.4
4.0
2.8
2.6

60‑69（n=522）
Types of sports

Professional baseball（NPB※）
Professional football
2（J League）

1

3

Professional golf

4High-school baseball5

Marathon andEkiden road relay

3.7
2.7
1.6

Professional baseball（NPB※）
Professional football
2（J League）
Football（High-School,
University, JFL, etc.）

3

Attendance Rank
rate （％）

1.1
1.0
0.8

High-school baseballProfessional basketball(B League)

1.3

1.5

Types of sports

1

1.3

6.5

30‑39（n=458）

1
2
3
4
5

Attendance Rank
rate （％）

40‑49（n=591）
Types of sports

Professional baseball（NPB※）
Professional football
2（J League）

10.3

1

1.1

3

High-school baseball4

Professional basketball(B League)
Football（High-School,
University, JFL, etc.）

5.5
1.1
1.1

5

9.3
4.4
3.4
2.4
2.2

70 and over（n=477）
Types of sports
Professional baseball（NPB※）
High-school baseballMarathon andEkiden road relay
Sumo wrestling
Professional golf

Attendance
rate （％）

8.6
3.6
2.3
1.3
0.8

※NPB:Nippon Professional Baseball“Professional baseball (NPB)” had the highest attendance rate among all generations.
This was followed by “Professional football (J League)” and “High-school baseball” in second and third place for the age groups
spanning 18 to 59; for age group ranging 60-69, “Professional football (J League)” then “Professional golf”, for people 70 and over,“High-school baseball” then “Marathon and Ekiden road relay” were second and third place respectively.
“Sumo wrestling” and “Professional golf” also made it into the top five for the group who aged 70 and over.

10

Attendance
rate （％）

Types of sports spectating on TV：Total and by gender
Total (n=3,000)
Rank

Types of sports

Male (n=1,493)
ViewingRankrate（%）

Types of sports

Female (n=1,507)
ViewingRankrate（%）

Types of sports

Viewingrate（%）

1

Professional baseball（NPB※）

48.7

1

Professional baseball（NPB※）

59.8

1

Figure skating

42.5

2

High-school baseball

36.4

2

High-school baseball

41.7

2

Professional baseball（NPB※）

37.6

3

Figure skating

30.2

3

Sumo wrestling

31.9

3

Marathon andEkiden road relay

31.2

4

Marathon andEkiden road relay

30.1

4

Marathon andEkiden road relay

28.9

4

High-school baseball

31.1

5

Sumo wrestling

28.0

5

Japan national rugby
team games

27.7

5

Sumo wrestling

24.2

19.9

Didn't watch any sports on TV

16.9

Didn't watch any sports on TV

Didn't watch any sports on TV

22.8※NPB :Nippon Professional Baseball

Of the sports that were watched on TV in the past year, the most popular was “Professional baseball (NPB)” at 48.7%, followed by “High-school
baseball” at 36.4%, “Figure skating” at 30.2%, “Marathon and Ekiden road relay” at 30.1%, and “Sumo wrestling” at 28.0%.
Among males, “Professional baseball (NPB)” was the most watched on TV at 59.8%, followed by “High-school baseball” at 41.7% and “Sumowrestling” at 31.9%. Among females, “Figure skating” was the most watched on TV at 42.5%, followed by “Professional baseball (NPB)” at
37.6% and “Marathon and Ekiden road relay” at 31.2%.

11

Sports volunteering
Sports volunteering：Total and by gender
Participation rate

Rate of desire to participate

Participation rate

18-19（n=72）

Total（n=376）12.5
6.7（n=1,489）

5.7

40-49（n=591）

6.4

50-59（n=503）

5.8

60-69（n=520）

4.6（n=591）13.4（n=1,490）

Female（n=520）11.5（n=1,502）0（n=501）3.9（n=1,506）

2

4

6

14.9

30-39（n=457）（n=457）

Male

27.8

20-29（n=376） 4.3（n=2,992）

8

1070 and over（n=476） 4.0（n=475）

12

14

16
（%）

5.3% of people participated in sports volunteering in the past year.
The rate has slightly decreased compared to the first survey in 1994, which was 6.1%.
In terms of gender, 6.7% of males and 3.9% of females participated in sports
volunteering. This trend of higher volunteer participation among males than females
was also seen in past surveys.

0

Rate of desire to participate

8.3（n=72）

5.3（n=2,995）

12Sports volunteering：By age

11.4
13.9
13.8
11.5
7.2

5

10

15

20

25

30
（%）

The sports volunteering participation rate was the highest for people aged 18-19(8.3%), followed by those in their 40-49 (6.4%), and those in their 50-59 (5.8%).
The rate of desire to participate was also the highest for people aged 18-19 (27.8%),
followed by those in their 20-29 (14.9%) then those in their 40-49 (13.9%).

A think tank whose every dream and action is taken with the future in mind.
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1. Research and surveys
The Institute of Sports Policy, established in
SSF carries out fact-finding surveys, casestudies and empirical research.
The institute gathers and analyses quantitative
data and advanced cases in the country as
well as overseas, which are essential for thenational government and local governments todraft sports policy and for variousorganizations to plan sports promotion
programs. SSF proactively makes proposals forpolicies to governments and for plans to sports
organizations, based on evidence obtained
from the research and survey.

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2. Collaboration with local governments
SSF promotes a nationwide sport program, which aims to encourage people toparticipate in sports and physical activities, called Challenge Day. In this program,municipal communities with similar size of populations compete over thepercentage of their residents who did some kind of sports and physical activities
for a minimum of fifteen minutes on the last Wednesday of May. Through ChallengeDay, SSF is able to forge closer links with local governments and otherorganizations, and to verify that sports are beneficial in building local communities
and promoting relationships between people of different generations, and to
propose a system in which individual residents can enjoy sports in theircommunities.
Furthermore, in collaboration with local governments who participate in Challenge
Day and with other local governments nationwide, SSF draws up sports promotion
plans for local communities and offers the results of its surveys and research.

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

3. Public relations
SSF disseminates the information about its initiatives as
described above, and releases the latest sports information in
the country and overseas that is beneficial for sports policy
research, through its official website, social media,
symposiums, seminars, and international conferences.
As part of its public relations activities, SSF publishes theresults of the National Sport and Lifestyle Survey, which isbiannually conducted to understand the state of participationand involvement in sports by Japanese, by means of a report
called the SSF National Sports-Life Survey.
SSF also brings out and extensively distributes Sport White
Paper, in which the latest data in the country and overseas isprinted.