White Paper on Sportin Japan2017

First published 2017by Sasakawa Sports Foundation
ARK Mori Bldg., 1-12-32 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-6011, Japan
Copyright © 2017 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.
We gratefully acknowledge the financial support from the Nippon Foundation.

ISBN 978-4-915944-66-6

Contents
Chapter 1 Sports Policy

Ⅰ . The Acts on Sports
Ⅱ . Sports Administration System
Ⅲ . Measures of the Japan Sports Agency

Chapter 2 Sports Participation

Ⅰ . Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Adult
Ⅱ . Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Children and Young People
Ⅲ . Sports Spectators
Ⅳ . Volunteering in Sports

Chapter 3 Financial Resources for Sports

Ⅰ . Financial Resources for Sports in Japan
Ⅱ . Financial Resource for Sports in Local Government
Ⅲ . Funds for Sport Organizations
Ⅳ . Gross Domestic Sports Product

Chapter 4 Sports Facilities

Ⅰ . Current Status of Sports Facilities
Ⅱ . Sports Facilities for High Performance Sports
Ⅲ . Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities

Chapter 5 Human Resources for Sports
Ⅰ . Professions in Sports
Ⅱ . Sports Instructors

Chapter 6 Sports Clubs

Ⅰ . Sports Club Memberships for Adults
Ⅱ . Participation in Sports Clubs and School Sports Clubs byChildren and Young People
Ⅲ . Private Fitness Clubs
Ⅳ . Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

List of Figures
List of Tables

Picture Credits

1
5
13

19
30
42
49

54
63
66
71

73
79
82

86
93

98
102
109
112

Foreword
The Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) was established in March
1991. Since the establishment, SSF has implemented a wide range ofactivities such as survey research, grant programs, and international cultural
exchange in order to promote the enjoyment of sports by "anyone, anytime,
anywhere".
As Japan has faced the declining birthrate and the aging society, thepublic awareness about the importance of sports and healthy lifestyles has
increased. Despite this fact, over the past ten years, the number of people
who are unaccustomed to playing sports has remained steady at five out often. SSF believes that it is our responsibility to change this shocking statistic
while helping create a healthy, dynamic environment for everyone, themission of SSF.
The first decade of the 21st century has now gone and we have begun
to see a push toward new sports policies by the government. SSF celebrated
its 20th anniversary amid the ongoing changes, and has decided to enhance
the research function, which compiles and analyzes a wide variety of survey
data. We are thus able to proactively propose governmental policy on
local and national levels and propose programs to sports organizations. In
addition, we are also able to develop and implement programs that embody
our vision of sports in the future.
SSF will continue promoting the firm establishment of "Sport for
Everyone," a philosophy that aims to create a happier, healthier society,with the ultimate goal of enriching the athletic lives of each individual andcreating an environment in which people can continue enjoying sports intheir own ways.
Finally, this book would not have been possible without thecontributions and support of our advisory board and authors. I would like tothank them and acknowledge their outstanding work.
		
		
		

Kazutoshi Watanabe
President, Sasakawa Sports Foundation
October, 2017

Chief Editor
Kazutoshi Watanabe
President, Sasakawa Sports Foundation

Advisory Board for White Paper on Sport
Osamu Ebihara
Professor, Faculty of Education and Human Sciences,
Yokohama National University
Yoshiyuki Mano, Ph.D
Professor, Faculty of Sport Sciences,
Waseda University
Shinsuke Sano
Columnist, SANKEI SHIMBUN CO., LTD.
Shigeki Shibuya
Research Fellow, Sasakawa Sports Foundation
Miyako Tanaka-Oulevey
President, Polygone, Inc.
Yasuo Yamaguchi, Ph.D
Professor, Graduate School of Human Development and Environment,
Kobe University
As of October, 2017

Sports Policy 1

Chapter 1
Sports Policy
I. The Acts on Sports
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 physical activities
performed by individuals or groups for the purpose of “sound developmentof mind and body”, “retention and promotion of health and physicalstrength”, “acquisition of mental satisfaction”, and “cultivation of the spiritof self-sufficiency or other mentalities”. Furthermore, the Act defines sport
as “crucial for citizens to lead a healthy and fulfilled life in terms of mind
and body throughout their lifetime”, and clearly states that living life happily
and fruitfully through sports 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 the importanceof Japanese sport players 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
the national 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 Sports 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 defined in Article
18, mentioning the importance of coordination and cooperation
between sport organizations and business operators for disseminationof sport and improvement at competition level.
・ With regard to sport for people with disabilities, Article 26 states thatin order to ensure the smooth holding and operation of the NationalSports Games for Persons with Disabilities, necessary supportshould be provided to Japanese Para-Sports Association and to theprefectures 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 sports 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 sports system. Japanese system had relied on public funds
and funding from private companies, and has now been suffering from thedeclining birthrate and aging, as well as the impact of a prolonged slowdown
in the economy. Article 21 of the Act specified how lottery revenue should
be used and allocated to local government bodies and sports organizations.
The allocation of subsidies from the Sports Promotion Lottery isdetermined in accordance with the “Basic Policies for Subsidies fromthe Sports Promotion Lottery Profits” formulated by MEXT. An amountequivalent to 50% of lottery ticket sales is used as prize money for winners,
then two thirds of the remaining profit (after deducting management
expenses) is used as subsidies for the promotion of sports, while theremaining one third is paid to the national treasury.

Sports Policy 3
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 “J.
League”). The Act now allows betting on football matches that are held byoverseas 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 sports
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 andthe School Health Center of Japan, such as the administration of school
lunches, school safety and the operation of the National Stadium. In 2012,
NAASH has changed its organization name to the Japan Sport Council (JSC)and the Act above is thereby called the “Act on the Japan Sport 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 maintenance ofsports 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 Cup2019” 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.

4 Sports Policy
5. Act on Special Measures for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics andParalympics
In September 2013, Tokyo was successful in its bid to host the 2020
Olympic and Paralympic Games. Considering the significant impact hosting
the Olympics will have on Japan, the “Act on Special Measures for the 2020
Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics” were enacted in June 2015 to ensurethat 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 touse.

Sports Policy 5

II. Sports Administration System
1. Sports 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 thoserelated to school sports and physical education, and activities of school

Japan Sports Agancy
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 Sports
Association(JASA)

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

prefectural sports
federations

prefecturalpara-sports
associations

prefectural
councils ofcommunity
sports leaders【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 Sports Administration Structure in Japan：affilated

6 Sports Policy
clubs as well as regional sports. They are also responsible for hosting andparticipating in international sports competitions such as the Olympics andParalympics and the FIFA World Cup and enhancing high performancesports.
Professional sports 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 Professional Sports
Association were all once under the jurisdiction of MEXT and carry the
influence of its methods of sports administration. At present, due to thereform of the public interest corporation system, these organizations areadministered by the Cabinet Office. Moreover, many industries responsible
for sports goods and equipment, leisure industries such as golf course, ski
resorts and bowling alleys, and health service industries such as fitness clubs
are administered by Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (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 sports
and 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 sports facilities such as
sports/multipurpose parks used for the National Sports Festivals, and theJapan Tourism Agency of MLIT is in charge of promoting sports tourism.
As is seen here, a large number of government offices are involved in the
promotion of sports.
Japan Sports Agency: The Leader of Sports Administration
Sports 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 sports has led to the comprehensive
promotion of sports policies that span over several different fields, andthe sports administration is expected to increase the effectiveness of
those policies. In this context, “comprehensive review of the modality ofadministrative 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 wasawarded to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games (Tokyo 2020),
creating favorable conditions for the establishment of the Japan Sports
Agency (JSA) in October 2015.

Sports Policy 7
The JSA was created by expanding MEXT’s Sports and Youth Bureau into
an external bureau and is led by a commissioner, a deputy commissioner,a director-general, and a deputy director-general. The four divisions of theSports 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 reassigned from otherministries or government offices.
Major renewal of division by establishing Japan Sports Agency
1. ‌Transition from “Sports Promotion Division” to “Sports for Health
Division”
A 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).

Minisuter of Education, Culture, Sports,
Science and Technology (MEXT)

Commissioner for Japan Sports Agency
Policy Divison
Office for Physical Education
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 andPraivate-Sector Cooperation Division
Japan Sports Agency (2015)

Figure 1-2 Organization Chart of Japan Sports Agency

8 Sports Policy
2. Establishment of the International Affairs Division
Established as an expansion of the programs previously overseen by theCompetitive Sports Division, the newly created International Affairs Division
is responsible for international contribution via sports, as well as active
participation in the global sports world by training and dispatching personnel.
3. Establishment of the Olympic and Paralympic Games Division
An Olympic and Paralympic Games Division was created toensure the success of Tokyo 2020 by coordinating with the various sports
organizations and promoting the Olympic Movement. This division willcease to exist once that event concludes.
4. Establishment of the Community Development Division
A new Community Development Division was created to oversee thecreation of diverse locations where sports can be played and the vitalizationof communities through sports.
5. ‌Establishment of the Sports Organizations Support and Private-Sector
Cooperation Division
A new Sports Organizations Support and Private-Sector Cooperation
Division was created to oversee areas such as the improvement of sports
organizations governance, training of sports personnel and coaches, supportof athlete career paths, and promotion of coordination with industry.
Physical education and sports-club activities at schools, domains
which were previously controlled by the Sports and Youth Bureau, arenow under the Policy Division’s Office for Physical Education. Control
of policies that were overseen by other government agencies prior to thecreation of the JSA have not yet been transferred to it. The JSA has come toplay a central role in sports administration as it works to coordinate policies
between the various ministries.
2. Major Sports Promotion Institutions in Japan
In addition to administrative organizations, a number of public
interest corporations such as the Japan Sport Council (JSC), the JapanSports Association (JASA), the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) andthe National Recreation Association of Japan (NRAJ) play a significant
role in the promotion of sports. Their roles include enhancement of highperformance sports, provision of subsidies for promotional activities, anddevelopment of a better understanding of the value of sports.
The JSC strives to promote sports and improve physical health ofschool children through the following activities; management of sports
facilities such as the Yoyogi National Gymnasium, construction of the New

Sports Policy 9
National Stadium, conduct of various research projects at the Japan High
Performance Sport Center, support for sports promotion through operationof the Sports Promotion Lottery, and payment of necessary benefits in thecase of accidents that occur to students under the supervision of schools.
The JASA, JOC and NRAJ preside over various sports associations suchas sports organizations in the all 47 prefectures and are incorporated into
the national administrative system which controls sports policies. These
policies concern issues such as the improvement of Japan’s international
high performance, the training of sports instructors, and the development ofregional sports 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 inJapan. As a contracted party of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA Code),
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 another and through otherawareness-raising activities.
3. Sports Administrative Organizations in Local Governments
Sports Administrative Organizations in Prefectures and Municipalities
Until recently, the regional Boards of Education were principally incharge of all duties involved in sports administration for each prefecture
and municipality. This was due to Article 23, item 13 (Duties and Authorityof the Board 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 of Education
were to supervise and execute the operation of policies related to sports.
However, under Article 4 of the Basic Act on Sport, it is now prescribedthat “local governments are responsible for establishing and implementing
measures concerning sport which are appropriate to the characteristics ofthe 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 public bodies to supervise andadminister affairs related to sports 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 of Education and been placed
under the mayors or governors in many local governments.

10 Sports Policy
As of October 2016, 24 prefectures out of 47 have placed thesports administrative department within their board of education, while 23
have placed the department within the governor’s office. Among the 20
ordinance-designated cities1 in Japan, only three - Sagamihara, Nagoya,
and Kobe - place the sports administrative department within the board ofeducation, while the remaining 17 place the department under the purview
of the governor. On the other hand, according to the “All Municipalities
Survey on Sports Promotion” (2016) conducted by the SSF, when excluding
ordinance-designated cities, over 85% of the 1,168 municipalities place
the sports administration department within the board of education. As
for the municipalities with smaller populations, the sports administrative
departments continue to be included within the board of education, evenafter the revision of the Local Educational Administration Act.
By transferring authority of the sports administrative department
from the board 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.
To promote sports administration within the government in a unified andcomprehensive manner, in October 2015 the government established the“Japan Sports Agency” as an external bureau to MEXT to serve as thecentral authority for all relevant ministries and government offices. Thismay have an additional impact on the ways in which prefectures andmunicipalities handle sports administration.
Organized by the JSA, the Prefectural and Designated-City Sports
Administrators Conference held in January 2016 made it clear thatdepartments responsible for managing sports(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 withinmunicipalities as well. It is essential that sports administration departments
coordinate their efforts closely with other departments, such as those incharge of community development, park management, social welfare, andhealth promotion.
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 September 2017, there are 20 ordinancedesignated cities.

Sports Policy 11
In addition, prefectures and municipalities are working to actively
promote sports through large-scale international events such as the Rugby
World Cup™ 2019 and the Tokyo 2020, as evidenced by the creation of a
Rugby World Cup Section in Saitama Prefecture’s Department of PublicServices, an Olympic and Paralympic Division in Kanagawa Prefecture’sSports Bureau, and a Rugby World Cup 2019 Promotion Office in the
General Planning Department of Kamaishi City, Iwate Prefecture.
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 sports. These extra-governmentorganizations usually receive financial assistance from the relevant
local government at the time of their establishment. However, how suchorganizations 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 and the like, areprescribed by the “Local Autonomy Act.”
When the Local Autonomy Act was partially revised in September
2003, the management of public facilities (sports facilities, city parks,
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 to those 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 andvoluntary basis organizations.
Due to this revision, many quasi-government corporations or public
foundations that had been in operation primarily for the management andoperation of public sports facilities have been forced to review their businessactivities and organization structures. The number of prefectures containing
quasi-government corporations or public foundations has been steadilydecreasing: from 25 prefectures in 2000 to 23 prefectures in 2005, and thento 18 prefectures in 2010 and 15 prefectures in 2016.

12 Sports Policy
As of August 2016, 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 sports associations (Yokohama) or other quasi-governmental
corporations (Sapporo).

Sports Policy 13

III. Measures of the Japan Sports Agency
1. 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 sports policies over a tenyear period, starting from 2012, and contains a set of measures outlining thesystematic 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 Japan a SportNation. (a) Increasing sport opportunities for children; (b) Promotion ofsport activities in line with the life stage; (c) Improvement of community
sport environments where residents can actively participate; (d) Training
human resources and developing the sport environments in order to enhanceinternational competitiveness; (e) Promotion of international exchanges andcontributions through bids for and hosting of international competitions suchas the Olympic and Paralympic Games; (f) Improvement of the transparency
and fairness/equity in the sport world; and (g) Creation of a virtuous cyclein the sport world. Within these seven broad themes, the plan had 19
narrower policies (e.g. promoting plans that improve children’s physicalfitness starting from early childhood,) which contain a total of 165 specificmeasures 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 sports as well as improving facilities and personnel training
to make that a reality; (b) using sports 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 sports by promoting clean andfair sporting events. These four themes are similarly subdivided into 19
narrower policies which contain 139 specific measures to be implemented.
Sport and Regional Revitalization
In addressing the overconcentration of people in Tokyo, therevitalization of regional communities and balanced development acrossthe country has consistently been an important policy issue since the endof the Second World War. In other words, it is a problem for which no
fundamental solution has been found, even as the issues faced by society
and the economy have evolved over the decades. A report released after the14 Sports Policy
reshuffling of the Second Abe Cabinet in September 2014 caused quite a stirwhen it indicated that around half of Japan’s municipalities could cease toexist if the country’s current trend of shrinking population continued. This
prompted the administration to formulate a comprehensive “community
development” strategy based on the future population estimate for eachregion, and to enact policies under which the national government would
provide financial assistance for promoting specific measures within thatstrategy.
Creating jobs is an essential part of regional revitalization policy,
and there is increasing hope in sports-related employment and industries asa way of revitalizing communities. Discussions regarding income throughsports took place at the Future Sports Development Conference. The
government’s growth strategy itself indicates a goal of increasing the GDSP
(see page 71) from JPY5 trillion to JPY15 trillion.
Promotion of Host Towns for Tokyo 2020
The Cabinet Secretariat’s Headquarters for the Promotion of
the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games is working not only on the
preparation and support of the event itself, but also on ensuring that theeffects of the Olympics will spread throughout Japan and leave a continuous
legacy in each region. One of those initiatives is the promotion of hosttowns. Under this policy, the government registers municipalities that
promote cultural and economic exchange with participant countries andregions in the Olympics, and the government will provide support in theform of funding, temporary personnel assignment, and information sharing.
The goal of the policy is to achieve regional revitalization that will continue
after the end of the Olympics by creating an inclusive society, improving
education and culture, and promoting community sports, globalization, andtourism. As of December 2016, a total of 138 regions have been registered.
Another initiative is the “Pilot Project for Creating Opportunities
through Culture”. The Olympics are not merely a sporting event - it isalso a cultural festival, which means that the host cities are obligated to
implement cultural programs. The organizing committee and the Agency
for Cultural Affairs are aiming for 200,000 cultural programs with a total of
fifty-million participants nationwide by the time the Games begin in 2020.
Although this project (32 programs as of December 2016) is subsidized by
the government, the policy includes an application requirement that ensuresprograms are not simple one-off events but are instead designed to continueeven after the Olympics, leaving a legacy for future generations.

Sports Policy 15
In addition to these, there are also other initiatives which aim toutilize international mega-sporting events held in Japan in the revitalizationof communities and are being unveiled by various municipalities, such as
the National Governors’ Association, the Mayoral Alliance for Regional
Revitalization through the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, theKyushu Regional Strategy Conference, and other entities.
2. Policies on Sports Tourism and Governmental Support
Since the year 2000, the tourism industry has been gaining attention
as an avenue for revitalizing local economies and creating new jobs. To
create appealing tourist attractions that are competitive on a global level,
the Japan Tourism Agency has been promoting initiatives that focus onnew, community-based tourism. Among these, one policy that the entire
government is pushing relates to the promotion of sports tourism.
The current status of sports tourism as well as its future werediscussed at the first Liaison Conference for the Promotion of Sports
Tourism, which was held on May 18, 2010. Professional and competitive
sports organizations, tourism associations, media, and local governments
were invited to the conference, and in attendance were individuals
representing the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport, andTourism; the Japan Tourism Agency; the Ministry of Internal Affairs
and Communications; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; the Ministry of
Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology; and the Ministry of
Economy, Trade, and Industry. These conference members were divided
into four working teams, each of which tackled a different area: designingsports tours, improving ticketing, promoting globalization and international
exchange, or increasing the appeal of facilities. The teams recognized
the problems faced in their respective areas and developed solutions for
dealing with them. Discussions within the teams and at the conference were
integrated into the Basic Policy to Promote Sports Tourism formulated in
2011.
With the creation of this basic policy, the primary objective of the
Liaison Conference had been accomplished, but more deliberation wasneeded regarding the precise form were organizations that promote sports
tourism should take. That debate led to the concept of creating a central
organization that will support the local promotion of sports tourism bycoordinating those efforts, which prompted the government and the private
sector to begin working together. This led to the establishment of the JapanSport Tourism Alliance (JSTA), which registered as a general incorporated
association in April 2012, and currently serves as a hub for the promotion of

16 Sports Policy
sports tourism in Japan.
The enactment of the Basic Act on Sport in 2011 also increased
opportunities for sports tourism. The act states that sports play a role in not
only the traditional areas of education and health promotion, but also in therevival of regional communities and the revitalization of society and theeconomy. Furthermore, sports tourism is given attention to in government
sports policies as well—initiatives aimed at creating opportunities fortravelers to enjoy sports at their destinations, as well as the establishmentof a coordinating organization that works to stimulate communities throughsports tourism, are both referred to within the Sport Basic Plan (2012)
measures for promoting sports activities that match people’s life stages,
coordinating community sports with businesses and universities, andbidding on and hosting international competitions such as the Olympic andParalympic Games.
This demonstrates that, in addition to the tourism administration, thesports administration is also taking notice of sports tourism. Moreover, thefact that Japan was selected to host the Rugby World Cup 2019 and the 2020
Olympics has led to a rapid proliferation in the number of local governments
hosting their own sports events or trying to entice visitors through sports
lodging. Until now, the national government and local municipalities have
kept their sports promotion and tourism promotion separate, but recently
there is a movement in establishing offices that jointly administer these
two as well as other related areas. Promoting sports tourism will require
coordination and cooperation between not only sports organizations andsports facilities, but also a diverse group of interested parties, including
travel agencies, lodging facilities, law enforcement, the media, and local
sports volunteers.
Sports Commissions in JapanA sports commission is an interface that connects competitive sports
organizations and the rights-holders of sporting events with municipalities
to maximize the various benefits that sporting events bring. These include
both economic benefits—inducing consumption, spurring investment, etc.—
and social benefits such as recognition for the host area, an improved senseof community, and the accumulation of knowledge and human resources
related to event management. The point of creating a sports commission isto uncover the hidden potential of communities and to establish centralized
control of resources and rights that had previously been maintainedby separate entities. Consideration of management and marketing is
indispensable for accomplishing this objective.

Sports Policy 17
It is possible to, for example, hold events that utilize the existing
resources of an area, such as trail runs that take advantage of natural
terrain and triathlons that use oceans and lakes, but doing so requires abroad management strategy that spans a wide range of fields, including
coordination between municipalities and athletic organizations, policing
and traffic control, and environmental and safety measures. Marketing is
also a critical part of realizing the economic and social benefits created byincorporating the relatively unknown community events and festivals of acommunity into sporting events, and getting people from outside the area toparticipate in and watch them.
Another important role of the sports commission is to entice sporting
events and training camps, and there are great hopes for hosting pre-games
camps related to the Rugby World Cup 2019 and Tokyo 2020. In addition
to create a sort of reputation as a mecca for that field, when trying to attract
training camps it is essential to establish a centralized management systemthat aggregates data and includes a variety of athletic organizations—a “onestop service,” so to speak. A sustainable system are needed for bidding andhosting events to ensure that these are not merely one-off occasions. In brief,
sports commissions should continually acquire knowledge about managing
events in order to create and discover more business opportunities.
Regional Sports Commissions
As of September 2016, there were 23 organizations in Japan that
correspond to regional sports commissions. Although their exact forms varyby municipality, its department is categorized into either an administrative
department or non-administrative department. Administrative departments
are organizations that are primarily established within the office of the headof government through methods such as combining the sports department
and tourism department. Administrative departments are advantageous as
they facilitate cooperation with other departments and related organizationsin their municipal governments, make it easy to coordinate the usage of
public sports facilities, including leveraging their position as official entities
to build a network with neighboring municipalities.
Non-administrative departments are generally private organizations—those whose parent body is an sports association, tourism association,
private corporation, or university, for example, or organizations with a legal
status such as a general incorporated association or NPO. The circumstancesof their creation differ by organization, but these organizations are often
established at the direction of an administration then placed outside ofit. Some advantages of non-administrative organizations are their ease in

18 Sports Policy
coordinating with private companies and organizations as well as their quick
decision-making, which make it easier for them to develop a variety of
projects.

Sports Participation 19

Chapter 2
Sports Participation
I. ‌Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Adult
1. Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
In order to understand the level of participation in sports and physicalactivities by adults, the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) has examined
the statistical data gathered through the “SSF National Sports-Life Survey”,
which has been conducted by SSF every other year since 1992. The survey
aims to understand the current situations of sports participation in terms offrequency, duration and intensity among Japanese adults, including those
who participate in higher levels of sports and physical activities.
In this survey, the participation of adults in sports and physicalactivities were 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 twicea week; “Level 2” for those who participated at least twice a week; “Level3” for those who participated at least twice a week with a duration of “morethan 30 minutes”; and “Level 4” for those who participated at least twicea week, duration of “more than 30 minutes”, and with more than moderateintensity (Table 2-1).
The levels of participation in sports and physical activities by adults
are shown in Figure 2-1. Level 4 is the participation level recommended
by the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) and the Ministry
Table 2-1 Levels of Participation in Sports 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 4At least twice a week, with a duration of more than 30 minutes, and with morethan moderate intensity(Active Sports Participant)

SSF
NationalSports-Life
Sports-LifeSurvey
Survey (2016)(2016)SSF
National

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

（％）

2.7

1992

6.8
6.6

34.6

49.3

7.5

9.1

1996

8.9

9.8

34.1

38.1

1998

9.1

13.0

13.1

30.4

34.3

2000

7.8

2002

8.5

13.3

17.6
15.4

27.9
18.2

29.3

29.8

32.0

2004

9.2

16.1

26.6
20.0

28.1

2006

7.8

15.9

26.5
18.2

31.7

2008

9.1

17.4

26.4
19.1

28.1
21.5

2010

9.3

18.4

24.1

26.9

2012

9.2

20.0

25.1
20.2

25.6

（Year）

2016

7.9

17.7

27.3
19.2

27.9

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

2014

10.0

18.7

26.2
18.8

26.4

Level 4

Level 3

Level 2

Level 1

Level 0Figure 2-1 Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities over the years

1994

6.6

7.6

28.3

50.1

20 Sports Participation

Sports Participation 21
of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan. SSF defines people whoare at this level as “Active Sports Participants.” Since 1992, the proportionof 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.
When Level 3 and 4 are combined, it shows that over 35% of adults areachieving a better quality participation in sports and physical activities interms of frequency and duration. One of the reasons behind this could be
the increased awareness of prevention of lifestyle diseases, as well as more
public interest in maintaining their body shape and improving health andphysical strength.
In 1992 and 1994, adults rated at Level 0 accounted for about halfof all adults in Japan. However, since that time this number has been
decreasing. This downward trend has also been observed in Level 1, andboth Levels 0 and 1 have followed a similar downward trend since 1996.
2. Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Gender andby Age GroupThe changes in the participation rate for sports and physical activities
over the last ten years (2006 to 2016) 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 began to decline since 2012. Conversely, theproportion of both men and women showed a slight decrease at Level 1,
with the number of men remaining 10 percentage points higher than that
number of women. At Level 0, the proportion of women was higher thanthat of men. However, in 2006, a 8.2 percentage point gap was foundbetween women (35.6%) and men (27.4%), but in 2012 there was only a 5.5
percentage point gap found between women (28.3%) and men (22.8%), thenin 2016 there was a 6.8 percentage point gap as women (31.2%) and men(24.4%), indicating that the gender difference was slightly widening again.
In terms of age groups, the proportion of the population reaching
Level 4 was higher in 2016 for all age groups except the 30s age group,
when compared to 2006 (Table 2-3). This was especially noticeable in theover 70s age group, where the proportion increased over a 10 percentage
point (from 11.3% in 2006 to 21.9% in 2016). Similarly, the trend for a
growing level of active participation in sports and physical activities forolder adults was also seen in the numbers at Level 0, where there was a 15
percentage point decrease (from 51.1% to 35.8%) for the over 70 age group.

2006
27.4
35.6
31.0
22.3
17.2
14.7

Level

Men Level 0

Women Level 0

Men Level 1

Women Level 1

Men Level 4

Women Level 4

16.3

18.5

21.4

31.5

31.7

24.4

2008

16.3

20.4

21.3

32.7

27.0

21.0

2010

19.5

20.4

20.3

30.0

28.3

22.8

2012

17.1

21.3

23.1

31.7

31.2

24.4

2016

(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2006-2016)

16.5

20.9

21.9

30.6

29.5

23.2

2014

Table 2-2 Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities over the years (By Gender)

22 Sports Participation

2016

2006

Year

12.0
19.3

Level 4

38.7

Level 1

Level 3

24.4

Level 05.6

19.0

Level 4

Level 2

11.5

Level 340.1

Level 1
7.5

21.8

Level 0Level 2In the 20s

Level

13.4

13.6

10.8

38.3

23.8

15.5

12.7

7.1

39.9

24.8

In the 30s

18.1

10.2

9.3

37.4

25.1

15.4

13.6

6.6

37.8

26.6

In the 40s

19.2

14.8

7.2

25.1

33.8

15.7

20.2

10.8

21.0

32.3

In the 50s

23.3

27.5

7.5

13.1

28.5

19.0

27.3

6.1

15.3

32.2

In the 60s

19.2

17.7

7.9

27.3

27.9

15.9

18.2

7.8

26.5

31.7

Total

(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2006, 2016)

21.9

28.4

5.8

12.0

31.9

11.3

21.4

8.2

9.4

49.7

70 and overTable 2-3 R ates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities over the years (By Age)

Sports Participation 23

24 Sports Participation
Based on these results, it can be concluded that: (a) the proportionof people who regularly participate in sports 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 sports and physicalactivities has increased significantly.
3. Participation in Sports and Physical Actvities by Types of Sports
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 2006. “Weighttraining” became the fourth since 2014, continuing to increase steadily.
Participation rate for “Bowling” has been decreasing for the last two surveys
since 2014, but remains at the fifth. In 2010, “Jogging/Running” ranked
the seventh and stays at the same rank until the latest survey, reflecting theimpact of running boom in recent years.
4. Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by People with
Disabilities
Figure 2-2 displays the number of days people participated in sportsor 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
the upper portion is obtained from the report titled “Project for promotionof disability sports in the communities (Research on promoting sports
participation for people with disabilities)” by the Japan Sports Agency while
the bottom portion is based on a 2015 survey conducted by the Cabinet
Office.
The data indicates that 9.3% of disabled adults participated three ormore days per week compared to 19.6% of nondisabled adults, while 9.9%of disabled adults participated one to two days per week compared to 20.8%
of nondisabled adults. Using these two levels of participation as a standard
for representing individuals who engaged regularly in sports or recreation
reveals that the level of participation for disabled adults (19.2%) was limited
to half that reported for nondisabled adults (40.4%). Even more striking is
the fact that the percentage of individuals who did not participate was nearly
three times higher for disabled adults (60.2%) than nondisabled adults(22.3%).
For almost all disability types (limb impairment [not requiring
wheelchair], visual impairment, hearing impairment, intellectual disability,6.9 Playing catch

6.8 Cycling

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Bowling

Weight training

Golf on a course

Swimming

Golf on a driving range

Sea bathing

Fishing
Playing catch

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Performed at least once in the previous year.

7.2 Golf on a course

7.5 Sea bathing

8.1 Swimming

8.4 Weight training

14.8 Bowling

16.1

19.7 Walking

Walking2

29.2 Strolling

2008

Strolling

2006

1

Rank

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Fishing
Jogging/Running

7.9 Playing catch

8.0 Golf on a driving range

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

2010

Calisthenics andlight exercises

8.1

8.2

8.5

Playing catch
Fishing

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

2012

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Calisthenics andlight exercises

Cycling

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

2016

6.7

7.2

7.3

7.5

8.6

9.5

13.5

17.3

23.7

32.0

(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2006-2016)

Golf on a driving range
Cycling
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

Table 2-4 Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities over the years (By Types pf Sports)

Sports Participation 25

26 Sports Participation
developmental disability, mental disorder, and others [including speech,
language, and chewing disorders as well as internal disorders]), around
20% of adults participated in sports or recreation at least one day per week,
although this number was about 10% for individuals with limb impairment[requiring wheelchair].
Inferring these disparities from a perspective of sports experiences,then the data suggests that there are serious deficiencies in either the social
environment during the growing period, or the current sports environment
found in compulsory education such as physical education and sports clubs
at schools, or perhaps both.
Types of Sports played by People with Disability
Table 2-5 displays the sports 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”. Also making it on thelist is participation in aquatic exercises, such as “Swimming” and “Water
walking”, which have long been used for rehabilitation. Participation was

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 participateDon’
t know

4.0

Disabled Adults[n=5,499]

9.3

9.9 8.0

60.2

5.7

3.0
6.2

Nondisabled Adults[n=1,873]

19.6

0

10

20.8

20

30

21.1

40

50

9.1

60

70

80

22.6

0.6

90

100 (%)

Note：Data for nondisabled adults is based on the Cabinet Office’s "Public Poll on Tokyo
Olympic and Paralympic Games (2015).
Project for promotion of disability sports in the communities(Research on promoting sports participation for people with disabilities) (JSA, 2016)

Figure 2-2 ‌Number of Days Adults Participated in Sports orRecreation in the past year

11.6

Calisthenics and light exercise

Bowling455Strolling

Jogging/Runnig

Calisthenics and light exercise

Swimming

Walking

N=161

Developmental Disability

Calisthenics and light exercise

Water Walking

Swimming

Walking

Strolling

Walking

Calisthenics and light exercise

Weight training

Bowling

2

3

4

5

10.0

13.0

18.5

25.7

33.0

%

11.2

14.9

18.0

28.6

39.8

%

10.6

12.3

13.3

26.5

41.0

%

Strolling

5

4

3

2

1

12.8

14.0

14.4

36.0

45.0

%

10.0

Swimming

Cycling

9.9

10.7

Jogging/Runnig

31.2

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Hiking
N=20,000

12.0

16.9

17.0

28.9

50.8

%

7.3

10.1

11.9
Swimming

Calisthenics and light exercise

46.8

%
35.4

Strolling

N=427
Walking

Running/Marathon/Long-Distance Relay

Training

ExerciseWalking%
36.4

Calisthenics and light exercise

N=253
Walking

Strolling

Hearing Impairment

Other (Including Speech and Internal Disabilities)

4

3

2

1

Rank

Reference:Public Poll on Sports Participation 2016

Jogging/Runnig

Calisthenics and light exercise

Swimming

Walking

N=616

Mental Disorder

Jogging/Runnig

10.5

Calisthenics and light exercise

33.8
12.8

Walking

37.9%

Swimming

N=219

Visual Impairment
Strolling

Rank

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.
Note 3：Public Poll on Sports Participation 2016 conducted by Japan Sports Agency is a national survey of individuals between the ages of 18 and 79.
Project for promotion of disability sports in the communities (Research on promoting sports participation for people with disabilities) (JSA, 2016)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)
Public Poll on Sports Participation (JSA, 2016)

Strolling

N=3,000

Reference: SSF National Sports-Life Survey 2016

10.0

4

3

2

1

Rank

5

4

3

2

1

N=520

Limb Impairment [Not Requiring Wheelchair]
Rank

1

Rank

24.2

Swimming

3

45.8

24.7

Strolling

Walking

1

%

7.8

8.5

14.9

22.0

%

2

N=190

Intellectual Disability

Balloon Volleyball

5

Rank

Water Walking

Walking

Playing catch

Strolling

N=141

4

2

1

Rank

Limb Impairment [Requiring Wheelchair]

Table 2-5 Participation‌in Sports and Recreation for the past year by Disability Type (n = 2,191 adults; multiple answers)

Sports Participation 27

28 Sports Participation
also high for “Jogging/Running”, which further emphasizes the importanceof guide runners for people with visual impairment.
5. Number of Registered Players by Types of Sports
In order to participate in competitions hosted by National Governing
Bodies (NGB) of sports or their affiliated organizations, participants
are required to pay an annual registration fee. These participants are
acknowledged as registered players.
The number of registered players and teams for sports which had thehighest number of participants (performed by the participants at least once ayear) according to the results obtained from “The 2016 SSF National SportsLife Survey” and “The 2015 SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young
People”, were described based on the data released by NGBs (Table 2-6).
Table 2-6 ‌The Number of Registered Players and EstimatedParticipantsSportsNumber of registered players [teams]
Total

Men

Women
2,819

Estimated number ofparticipants(in 10,000s)

Ratio of registeredplayers in the
population
0.09

Bowling

10,486

15.3

9.5

1,168

Swimming

130,571

-

-

23.1

7.3

1,031

1.27

Badminton

275,250

-

-

24.6

5.3

842

3.27

Golf

551,218

498,086

53,132

2.2

7.2

774

7.12

Football995,670

941,553

54,117

29.4

3.4

701

14.20

Table tennis

327,132

-

-

19.6

4.3

679

4.82

8,984

-

-

6.1

4.7

560

0.16

Mountaineering

7,667

Adult

Participation rate(%)
TeenagerBasketball636,987

366,958

270,029

28.1

2.1

551

11.56

Volleyball416,273

146,131

270,142

18.8

2.8

514

8.10

Baseball[59,083]

-

-

16.4

2.9

495

-

Tennis11,877

7,500

4,377

8.2

3.3

440

0.27

Softball126,941

85,286

41,655

7.5

2.4

338

3.76

Ground golf

179,317

-

-

0.1

2.5

261

6.87

Soft tennis

458,275

-

-

10.3

1.1

236

19.42
0.34

Ice skating

7,503

-

-

5.5

1.5

221

Aerobics

1,388

-

-

0.6

1.6

173

0.08

270,000

147,435

10.0

0.5

170

24.56

1,476

4.9

0.5

110

0.42

3.2

0.4

80

10.47
1.52

Track and field

417,435

Flying disc

4,630

Karate83,785

3,154

Surfing

10,152

8,784

1,368

0.4

0.6

67

Canoe

3,880

2,805

1,075

1.8

0.4

63

0.62

Judo

161,211

132,727

28,484

2.2

0.3

57

28.28

-

-

Rowing

9,157

6,356

2,801

1.1

0.3

44

2.08

Rugby

92,64389,071

3,572

1.5

0.2

39

23.75

Note1：The estimated number of participants is displayed in a descending order (participants are aged 10 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 2016 survey by the adult population (of103,888,078 people based on the Basic Resident Register on January 1, 2015).
2 The number of participants is calculated by multiplying the participation rate suggested in the 2015 survey by the teenage population(of 11,836,576 people based on the Basic Resident Register on January 1, 2014).
Note3：Soft volleyball is not included in the volleyball.
Note4：Futsal/5 a aside football is not included in the football.
SSF Census of the National Governing Bodies of Sports (2017)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

Sports Participation 29
When the number of individual players was examined, the sports that
had the largest number of registered players was “Football” with 995,670
people, followed by “Basketball” (636,987 people), “Golf” (551,218”,“Soft tennis” (458,275 people), “Track and field” (417,435 people) and“Volleyball” (416,273 people). By gender, the number of men registered washigher than that of women in many sports, with the exception of “volleyball”
that had a higher number of women.
Population of Registered Players and Actual Sports Participants
Dividing the population of registered players by the estimatedpopulation of participants allows the population ratio of the registeredplayers to be obtained. The sports that had the highest ratio of theregistered players were “Judo” at 28.28%, followed by “Track and field”(24.56%) “Rugby” (23.75%), “Soft tennis” (19.42%), “Football” (14.20%),“Basketball” (11.56%) and “Karate” (10.47%). The sports that had a highratio of registered players tended to have a relatively high participation rate
in young people, aged 10-19 years. On the contrary, the ratio of registeredplayers tended to be low in individual-oriented leisure sports such as“Aerobics” (0.08%), “Bowling” (0.09%), and “Mountaineering” (0.16%).

30 Sports Participation

II. ‌Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Children and Young People
1. ‌Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Children
Aged 4-9 Years
The levels of frequency of children’s participation in sports andphysical activities were divided into 4 groups (Table 2-7). Those who had
not participated in any sports or physical activities within the previous year
were categorized into the “non-participation group”; those who participatedat 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 seven times a week
(between 156-363 times per year) were categorized into the “moderatefrequency group”; and those who participated at least seven times a week
(364 or more times per year) were categorized into the “high frequency
group”. Participation in sports activities during classes or events at school,kindergarten, or nursery school were excluded from this survey.
Concerning the frequency of participation in sports and physicalactivities, children who never participated in any sports or physical activities(non-participation group) was 3.7%; those who participated at least threetimes a week (moderate and high frequency groups) was almost 80%, andthose who participated in sports and physical activities at least seven times aweek (high frequency group) was about 50% (Figure 2-3).
In Figure 2-4, the frequency levels of children’s participation in
sports 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 82.2% for boys and 78.3% for girls.
In terms of the frequency levels of children’s participation in sports
by school year, the number of children in the low frequency group decreased
Table 2-7 ‌Categories of Participation in Sports and Physical
Activities for Children Aged 4-9 years
Participation GroupNon-participation group
Low frequency group
Moderate frequency group
High frequency group

Criteria
Non-participation (0 time/year)
At least once a year but less than 3 times a week (between
1-155 times/year)
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 (2015)

Sports Participation 31
as the school years advanced, with 20.4% for preschool children, 15.7% forfirst and second grades, and 13.6% for third and fourth grades. An increasing
pattern was found for children who participated in sports and physicalactivities at least three times a week (moderate and high frequency groups)
as their school years advanced, with 74.7% for preschool children, 79.8%
for first and second grades, and 84.4% for third and fourth grades.
Non-participation group
3.7％
Low
frequency
group
16.0％
High
frequency
group
49.8％

Moderatefrequency
group
30.5％

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2015)

Figure 2-3 ‌Rate of Sports Participation for Children Aged 4-9
years
Non-participation group

Moderate frequency group

Low frequency group

51.4

30.8

13.9

Boys

High frequency group

3.8
18.2

Girls

30.2

48.1

28.7

46.0

3.5
20.4

Preschool children
4.8First and second
grades

15.7

27.6

52.2

34.2

50.2

4.5

Third and fourth
grades

13.6
2.0
0

20

40

60

80

100 (%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2015)

Figure 2-4 ‌Frequency Levels of Participation for Children Aged
4-9 years (By Gender and By School Year)32 Sports Participation
2. Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Children
Aged 4-9 Years by Types of Sports
Table 2-8 shows the ranking of participation in sports and physicalactivities by children aged 4-9 years (top ten sports and physical activities
participated at least once in the previous year). The sports that had thehighest participation rate in 2015 was “Playing tag”, followed by “Riding
bicycle”, “Swinging”, “Hide-and-seek” and “Skipping rope (including longrope)”.
Table 2-9 shows the raking of participation in sports and physicalactivities that were “often participated in” by children aged 4-9 years. This
excludes sports and physical activities that were performed irregularly,
allowing for a more accurate and clear understanding of the types of sports
and physical activities that are participated on a daily basis. Overall, “Playingtag” had the highest participation rate, followed by “Riding bicycle”,“Swimming”, “Swinging” and “Dodgeball”.
By gender, the most popular sports for boys were “Playing tag”,
following by “Football”, “Swimming”, “Riding bicycle” and “Dodgeball”,
and those for girls were also “Playing tag”, “swinging”, “Riding bicycle”,“Skipping rope (including long rope)” and “Swimming.” This suggests thatboys at the ages of around 4-9 years are already participating in sports that
continue to be popular in junior high and high school years, while girls weremainly participating in play based activities.”
Table 2-8 ‌Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-9 years (At least once a year)
Rank

Sports%1

Playing tag

65.7

2

Riding bicycle

53.2

3

Swinging

52.1

4

Hide-and-seek

48.0

5

Skipping rope (including long rope)

47.2

6

Swimming

46.3

7

Horizontal Bar

44.8

8

Running

39.7

9Dodgeball

39.6

10

Football

35.1
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2015)

26.2
25.1

Swimming

Swinging

Dodgeball

FootballSkipping rope(including long rope)

Horizontal bar

Runnnig

Hide-and-seek

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Playing catch

13.4

17.2

Skipping rope(including long rope)
Horizontal bar

18.5

19.2

19.6

32.4

35.9

37.3

45.5

50.9

%

Hide-and-seek

Runnnig

Swinging

Dodgeball

Riding bicycle

Swimming

FootballPlaying tag

SportsBoys

Note：The "often participated in" indicates sports and physical activities that were participated in more frequently than the "at least once a year".

18.9

19.5

20.4

28.7

29.3

34.0

36.7

Riding bicycle

2

50.5

%

Playing tag

Sports1

Rank

Overall

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

11.3

19.2

19.8

24.9

27.7

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2015)

Riding unicycle

Hide-and-seek

Runnnig

DodgeballHorizontal bar

30.6

33.4

Skipping rope(including long rope)
Swimming

37.5

39.4

50.0

%

Riding bicycle

Swinging

Playing tag

SportsGirls

Table 2-9 ‌Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Children Aged 4-9 years (Those Who"Often Participated in" By Gender)

Sports Participation 33

34 Sports Participation
3. ‌Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Young
People Aged 10-19 Years
The participation rates of young people aged 10 to 19 years in sports
and physical activities are analyzed in terms of frequency, duration andintensity (Table 2-10).
Those youths who did not participate in any sports or physicalactivities at all in the previous year were categorized as “Level 0”; those
who participated sports and physical activities at least once a year but lessthan once a week (1 to 51 times/year) as “Level 1”; those who participatedat 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 (260or more times/year) as “Level 3”; and those who participated at least fivetimes a week, with a duration of 120 minutes, and with more than moderateintensity as “Level 4.” Participation in sports activities during classes or
events at schools were excluded from this survey.
From the survey conducted in 2015, the percentage of young people
who did not participate in any sports or physical activities in the previous
year (Level 0) was 13.2%, representing one in every eight young people(Figure 2-5). Those who participated at least five times a week, with aduration of 120 minutes, and with more than moderate intensity (Level 4)
constituted 27.1% of the young people.
By gender, it was found that the proportion of boys at Level 1 was
9.8% while that of girls was 16.6%. Meanwhile, the proportion of boys at
Level 4 was 33.9%, and that of girls was 20.2%. Both of these results showthat the frequency of participation in sports and physical activities is higher
for boys than girls (Figure 2-6). It was also found that one in every six
girls did not participate in any sports or physical activities at all during theprevious year.
Table 2-10 ‌Levels of Participation in Sports and Physical
Activities by Young People Aged 10-19 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 Young People (2015)

Sports Participation 35
By school year, the proportion of young people at Level 0 was 1.9%
in elementary school years, 6.4% in junior high school years, 16.7% inhigh school years and 20.7% 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 junior high and high school years (at 42.5%
and 36.2%, respectively), which may have been due to school sports clubsthat provide opportunities for students to participate in physical activities.
Among young workers (aged 15-19 years), the proportion of individuals at
Level 0 was extremely high at 38.9%, and those at Level 4 were only 3.3%.
Those who participated in physical activities once a week or less (e.g. Level
1 or below) accounted for 64.5% of young workers. Such a low participation
rate compared to other youths is an issue that needs to be addressed
appropriately.
4. ‌Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by
Young People Aged 10-19 by Types of Sports
Table 2-11 shows the ranking of participation in sports and physicalactivities by young people aged 10-19 years (top ten sports and physicalactivities participated at least once in the previous year). In 2015, “Football”
had the highest participation rate, followed by “Playing tag”, “Basketball”,“Dodgeball”, and “Jogging or running”.

Level 427.1%

Level 325.8%

Level 013.2%
Level 1
11.5%

Level 2
22.4%

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

Figure 2-5 ‌Rates of Sports Participation for Young People Aged
10-19 years

0

6.4

1.9 2.3

9.8

20.7

16.7

6.4

16.6

9.1

20

38.9

12.9

18.8

32.8

13.9

21.3

25.6

15.8

40

25.8

23.6

25.6

18.4

25.8

60

25.7
57.2

33.5

Level 1

Level 2

80

8.4

36.2

20.2

7.8

11.9

100 (%)

3.3

5.8

Level 4

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

24.4

42.5

33.9

Level 3Figure 2-6 Rates of Sports Participation for Young People Aged 10-19 years (By Gender and By School Year)

Working

CollegeHigh

Junior highElementary

Girls

Boys

Level 036 Sports Participation

FootballBasketball

Jogging/running

Playing tag

Swimming

Badminton

Skipping rope

Weight training

Dodgeball

Baseball

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Sports

1

Rank

2011

17.5

18.8

18.9

19.1

19.2

22.7

22.8

23.5

23.8

26.9

%

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Swinging

Weight training

Badminton

Skipping rope

Dodgeball

Swimming

Basketball

Jogging/running

Playing tag

FootballSports

2013

20.2

20.7

22.3

23.1

24.0

25.3

25.9

26.4

30.0

31.1

%

Playing catch

Weight training

Skipping rope

Swimming

Badminton

Jogging/running

DodgeballBasketball

Playing tag

FootballSports

20.0

20.1

21.9

23.1

24.6

24.9

25.0

28.1

28.7

29.4

%

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2011, 2013, 2015)

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

2015

Table 2-11 ‌Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Young People
Aged 10-19 years (At Least Once a Year)Sports Participation 37

38 Sports Participation
Table 2-12 shows the ranking of participation in sports and physicalactivities that were “often participated in (high frequency level)” by young
people aged 10-19 years. In 2015, “Football” had the highest participation
rate, followed by “Basketball”, “Playing tag”, “Badminton” and “Jogging
or running”. For the level of “at least once a year”, “Volleyball” and “Table
tennis” ranked fairly low, 13th and 12th places, respectively. However, these
sports ranked in the top ten of sports and physical activities that were “often
participated in” by young people. Therefore, sports and physical activities
that are “often participated in” by young people can serve as a benchmark to
distinguish their regular or occasional sporting activities.
“Football” had high participation rates among boys, on the other hand
“Badminton” and “Volleyball” had high particiapation rates for girls, and“Basketball” was participated by both boys and girls. This result suggeststhat the popular school sports clubs in junior high and high schools reflect
the ranking of sports participated by young people.
5. Participation in Sports by Children and Young People with
Disabilities
Figure 2-7 displays the number of days that disabled children andyoung people between the ages of 7 and 19 participated in sports andrecreation. According to the “Project for promotion of disability sports in thecommunities (Research on promoting sports participation for people withdisabilities)” by the Japan Sports Agency, 14.0% participated three or moredays per week in the past year, while 17.5% participated one to two days per
week. The percentage of disabled children in this age group that participatedat least one day per week was therefore 31.5%, compared to 41.9% who
responded that they didn’t participate at all. As for disability type, about
40% of children with visual or hearing impairment participated in sports andrecreation at least one day per week, compared to about 10% of children
with limb impairment [requiring wheelchair].
Participation in Sports and Recreation by Disability Tape
Table 2-13 displays the top three sports and recreation activities
that children and young people with disabilities participated in over the
past year for each disability type. “Swimming”, “Strolling”, “Walking”
and “Calisthenics and light exercise” had the highest participation rates.
“Swimming” had the highest participation for almost all disability types
due to its many different approaches and instructional methods, whichstrengthens its coaching and support systems and allows it to be actively
implemented for school-age children.

Basketball

Jogging/running

Swimming

Baseball

Badminton

Weight training

Playing tag

Volleyball

Dodgeball

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

10.4

11.2

13.2

13.4

13.7

15.3

16.1

17.0

21.2

23.7

%

10

9

8

7

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Volleyball

BaseballWeight training

Badminton

Swimming

Dodgeball

Jogging/running

Playing tag

Basketball

FootballSports2013

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

FootballSports

1

Rank

2011

10

12.4

Table tennis

Weight training

VolleyballSwimming

Dodgeball

Jogging/running

Badminton

Playing tag

Basketball

FootballSports

13.7

14.1

14.5

17.2

17.6

18.2

19.7

23.4

25.6

%

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2011, 2013, 2015)

9

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

15.0

15.1

16.7

17.1

19.3

21.3

21.5

28.2

%

2015

Table 2-12 ‌Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities by Young People
Aged 10-19 years (Often Participated in)Sports Participation 39

40 Sports Participation
Figure 2-7 Number‌of Days Disabled Children and Young People
aged 7-19 Participated in Sports and Recreation in
the past year
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 participateDon’
t know

4.7

Disabled Children andYoung People aged 7-19

［n=950］
0

14.0

17.5

20

4.3

10.8

40

41.9

60

6.7

80

100 (%)

Project for promotion of disability sports in the communities(Research on promoting sports participation for people with disabilities) (JSA, 2016)

Jogging/Runnig

3
3

2

37.0

21.7

1

42.4

Skipping rope

Strolling

Swimming

Sport

Developmental Disability

Strolling

Swimming

Walking

Sport

Swimming

Football

2

3

Sport

34.3

34.5

41.1

%

21.3

29.3

44.6

%

22.9

25.7

%

3

2

1

Rank

3

2

1

Rank

17.1

17.5

3

2

1

Rank

Swimming

Calisthenics and light exercise

StrollingSport

Jogging/Runnig

Playing tag

Football

%

26.4

30.0

31.1

Project for promotion of disability sports in the communities(Research on promoting sports participation for people with disabilities) (JSA, 2016)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children (2015)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015)

Sport

20.5

27.3

31.8

%

Other (Including Speech and Internal Disabilities)

3

22.5

Playing catch
Skipping rope

30.0

%

Jogging/Runnig

Swimming

Sport

Hearing Impairment

Reference: SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People 2015

20.0

Playing catch
BaseballSkipping rope

28.6

%

30.0

2

1

50.0
40.0

Rank

%

Strolling

Swimming

Sport

Mental Disorder

Skipping rope

Calisthenics and light exercise

2
3

Swimming

Sport

Visual Impairment

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 of Children is a national survey of individuals between the age of 4 and 10.
Note 3：SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People is a national survey of individuals between the age of 10 and 19.

Playing tag

1

Rank

Strolling

2

Rank

3

21.4

%

1

Rank

28.6

%

Limb Impairment [Not Requiring Wheelchair]

Reference: SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Children 2015

Swimming

SportIntellectual Disability

Sea bathing

Water Walking

Strolling

Sport

1

Rank

3

1

Rank

Limb Impairment [Requiring Wheelchair]

aged 7-19; multiple answers)

Table 2-13 ‌Sports and Recreation Participation for the past year by Disability Type (n = 552 disabled children and young people

Sports Participation 41

42 Sports Participation

III. Sports Spectators
1. Sports Spectating at Live Sports Events
According to “The 2016 SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, 32.5% of
adults had attended a sporting event at gymnasiums/arenas or stadium as aspectator in the previous year (Figure 2-8). When compared with previous
surveys, the rate of sports spectating has stayed within the range of at around30 percent in the last 10 years.
By gender, the spectating rate for men (37.4%) was 9.8 percentage
points higher than the rate for women (27.6%) (Figure 2-9). By age, thehighest spectating rate was found in the 40s age group (38.6%), followed by
the 20s 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 sports, “Professional baseball (NPB)”
had the highest spectating rate at 15.5%, followed by “High-school baseball”
and “J. League football (J1 and J2) - professional football league” at both
6.4%, and “marathon and Ekiden - marathon relays” at 4.0% (Table 2-14).
Spectator numbers for professional sports
Table 2-15 displays the yearly changes in the number of spectators
attending the events of professional sports organizations affiliated with theJapan Professional Sports Association. Excluding government-controlled
competitive sports, “Baseball” had the most spectators in 2015, with a totalof 24,236,920. Next came “Football (J. League)” with 9,178,812 spectators.

（Year）
29.9

2006
2008

34.2

2010

33.5

2012

31.7

2014

31.6

2016

32.5
0

10

20

30

40 (%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2006-2016)

Figure 2-8 Rates of Adults Spectating Live Sports Events

Sports Participation 43

Men

37.4

Women

27.6

20 - 2936.9

30 - 3933.9
38.6

40 - 49
50 - 59

32.5

60 - 6929.4

70 and over

22.6
0

10

20

40 (%)30

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

Figure 2-9 ‌Rate of Adults Attending Live Sports Events (By
Gender and Age)
Table 2-14 Popular‌Spectator Sports (multiple answers)
2016
Rank
1
2

SportsProfessional baseball (NPB)High-school baseball
J Leaguefootball (J1,J2,J3)

Attendancerate(%)

Estimated
spectators(in 10,000s)

15.5

1,610

5.3

551

4

Marathon and Ekiden

4.0

416

5

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

2.2

229

6

Amateur baseball(University, company teams, etc.)

1.5

156

1.4

145

1.3

135

7

Volleyball(High school, University, V League, etc.)

9Basketball(High school, University, NBL, WJBL, etc.)

Professional golf

Rugby

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

44 Sports Participation
In addition to baseball and football, “Women’s golf tour”, and “Sumowrestling” had more spectators than they did in 2011.
Among government-controlled competitive sports in 2015, “Boatracing” had the most spectators (8,938,331), followed by “National horse
racing (6,317,073)”, “Keirin” (3,303,425), and motorcycling racing(1,657,126). National horse racing was the only sport which showed anincrease in the number of spectators from 2011, in contrast to numbers forthe other publicly-run competitive sports which were either holding steadyor declining.
2. Sports Viewing on TV
In Table 2-16 and 2-17, the rates of sports viewing on TV, sports
spectating, and sports participation in adults and young people are shown.
The rate of viewing sports on TV among adults was estimated to be 88.2%(about 91.64 million people) and 85.1% among adolescents (about 10.07
million people). Regardless of gender and age, this rate was very high inboth groups, but slightly higher among adults. In terms of other sports
spectating and sports participation, both rates were higher among youths.
When looking at the types of sports viewing on TV by adults (Table
2-18), the most viewed sports were “Professional baseball (NPB)” at 54.2%,
followed by “High school baseball”, “Figure skating” “men’s national
football teams (including the Olympics)”, and “Marathon and Ekiden”. By
gender, TV sports were viewed more by men than by women in most of
the sports, except for “Figure skating” and “Women’s national volleyballteams”, which showed higher rates of viewing among women.
Among young people, “Professional baseball (NPB)” was also themost watched sports events at 48.4%, followed by “Men’s national footballteams (including the Olympics)”, “Women’s national football teams”,“Figure skating” and “High school baseball” (Table 2-19). By gender, “Men’s
national football teams (including the Olympics)” topped the list for men,but many of the sports viewed by people differed by gender.

1,737,560

1,702,878

4,686,951

6,190,296

11,160,395

65,00065,000100,000

238,105

293,000

515,435

510,261

50,628

481,769

8,754,694

21,370,226

2012

－

－

1,757,268

4,232,840

6,092,403

1,657,126

3,303,425

6,317,073

8,938,331－－－

188,890－776,662

560,480

97,296

336,427

9,178,812

24,236,920

2015(Number of People)

JPSA’s Professional Sports Almanac (2012, 2013)
Documents published by JPSA member organizations (2016)

1,684,330

3,636,080

6,142,471

9,319,130－－
9,992,747－

189,680－

703,277

528,899

69,227386,394

8,764,301

22,859,351

2014

－

228,180－

622,580

490,51063,316370,2098,350,228

22,047,491

2013

Note 1：Annual spectator numbers for member organizations of the Japan Professional Sports Association (JPSA).
Note 2：Totals for 2011–2012 are based on the Professional Sports Almanac, while those for 2013 onward are based on information made public by various organizations.
Note 3：JGTO: Japan Golf Tour Organization, PGA: Professional Golfers’Association of Japan.
Note 4：A horizontal line (—) indicates that the number of spectators is unknown.

4,898,502

45,000

Kickboxing

Motorcycle Racing

65,000Dance

Keirin100,000

Bowling

6,151,105

199,846

Formula Racing

13,032,611

329,161

BoxingHorse Racing

308,640

Sumo Wrestling

Boat Racing

420,600

Women's Golf Tour

47,525574,535

Men's Golf - JGTO

Men's Golf - PGA Senior

7,744,837

21,570,196

2011

Football (J. League)

BaseballSport

Table 2-15 Changes in Spectator Numbers for Professional Sports

Sports Participation 45

32.5
72.1

Rate of sports spectating

Rate of sports participation

75.6

37.4

90.0

Men

68.8

27.6

86.4

Women

75.6

36.9

81.2

In the 20s

76.2

33.9

82.4

In the 30s

74.9

38.6

88.8

In the 40s

66.2

32.5

92.6

In the 50s

42.4
86.8

Rate of sports spectating

Rate of sports participation

90.2

47.4

87.1

Boys

Note：The proportion of those who watched or participated in sports at least once a year

85.1

Rate of sports viewing on TV

Overall

83.4

37.3

83.1

Girls

98.1

38.6

87.5

Elementary

83.3

48.5

85.7

High

79.3

43.1

85.9

College

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

93.6

41.9

86.6

Junior high

71.5

29.4

92.3

In the 60s

(%)

68.1

22.6

90.5

70 and over

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

Table 2-17 Rate of Sports Viewing and Sports Participation in Young People Aged 10-19 (2015)
		(%)

Note：The proportion of those who watched or participated in sports at least once a year

88.2

Rate of sports viewing on TV

Overall

Table 2-16 Rate of Sports Viewing and Sports Participation in Adults (2016)46 Sports Participation

46.6
45.6

31.2
11.8

Figure skating

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

Marathon and Ekiden

Women's national volleyball team

Sumo wrestling

Professional tennis

Men's national Volleyball team

Women's national football teamNone watched on TV

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

35.5

36.9

38.7

43.1

43.6

48.6

High school baseball

2

54.2

%

Professional baseball (NPB)Sports1

Rank

Overall

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

None watched on TV

Professional golf

Women's national football teamFigure skating

Professional tennis

Women's national volleyball teamMarathon and Ekiden

10.0

32.3

33.7

33.8

37.7

38.8

43.4

43.9

51.5

Sumo wrestling

53.8

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

65.3

%

High school baseballProfessional baseball (NPB)SportsMen

Table 2-18 Popular Sports Viewing on TV for Adults (2016)

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

13.6

28.7

33.6

36.0

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

None watched on TV

Women's national football team

Sumo wrestling

Professional tennis

39.6

39.8
Men's national Volleyball team

43.2

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

43.5

43.9

47.3

59.2

%

Professional baseball (NPB)High school baseballMarathon and Ekiden

Women's national volleyball teamFigure skatingSports

Women

Sports Participation 47

47.9

21.6
17.7
14.9

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

Women's national football teams

Figure skatingHigh school baseballProfessional tennis

Marathon and Ekiden

National volleyball teams

J League football (J1,J2,J3)

Professional football(Europe, South america, etc.)

None watched on TV

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

22.7

27.2

33.9

38.8

40.7

45.6

48.4

%

Professional baseball (NPB)Sports1

Rank

Overall

10

9

8

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

None watched on TV

12.9

21.2

25.4

Professional football(Europe, South america, etc.)
Major league baseball

26.8

29.4

31.6

37.1

44.3

47.2

56.7

56.8

%

Marathon and Ekiden

Figure skating

J League football (J1,J2,J3)

Professional tennis

High school baseball

Women's national football teams

Professional baseball (NPB)

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

Sports

Men

10

9

7

6

5

4

3

2

1

Rank

Sports

Women

16.9

9.8

11.5

27.6

27.6

30.6

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

None watched on TV

Professional football(Europe, South america, etc.)

J League football (J1,J2,J3)

Marathon and Ekiden

National volleyball teams

Professional tennis

33.2

38.8

High school baseball40.0

Men's national football teams(including the Olympics)

43.9

52.2

%

Professional baseball (NPB)

Women's national football teams

Figure skating

Table 2-19 Popular Sports Viewing on TV for Young People Aged 10-19 years (2015)

48 Sports Participation

Sports Participation 49

IV. Volunteering in Sports
1. Rates and Types of Volunteering in Sports among Adults
According to the “SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, the rate ofvolunteering in sports among adults in Japan hovered at around 6-8% for the
sixteen years from 2000 to 2016, which represents less than 10% of the total
adult population (Figure 2-10). Based on the rate of 6.7% recorded in 2016,
the total number of sports volunteers can be estimated at about 6.9 million
people.
When the results were looked at by gender, the rate of volunteeringin sports 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, the 40s
age group had the highest rate (Figure 2-11).
The results of the 2016 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 50.8%, followed by thesame activity in “Day-to-day activities” at 36.4%, “Coaching” at 39.6%,
and “Refereeing” at 22.1% (Table 2-20). 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 (44.3 times),
followed by “Running or helping sports clubs” (28.7 times) and “Helping tomanage sports facilities” (13.1 times).

(%)
14

Men

12 11.6

11.4
10.1

10
8.3

8
6

7.9

4.1

4

11.0
9.9

7.0
5.1

Women

4.5

8.4
7.3 7.5
6.7
5.0

10.3

7.7

Overall

9.6
7.7

8.1
6.7

5.8

5.9

2008

2010

5.1

5.8

5.3

2
0

2000

2002

2004

2006

2012

2014

2016 (Year)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2000-2016)

Figure 2-10 ‌Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Adults (By
Gender)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

(%)
16

4.9

9.4

7.6

2000

13.6

6.8

5.5

2002

6.8 6.8

4.8

5.7

7.2

2004

9.3

5.2
4.5

5.2

5.5

2006

10.2

6.2

2.2

4.2

6.6
5.3

2008

12.7

6.6

4.0

5.8

7.2

2010

10.1

12.0

7.9
6.6
5.2

6.4

6.9

2012

11.9

8.4

6.6

In the 20s
In the 50s

5.9

2014

7.5

4.4

5.7

5.1

8.2

6.3

6.1

3.9

2016 (Year)

9.3

In the 40s
70 and over

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2000-2016)

8.1

13.6

In the 30s
In the 60s

Figure 2-11 Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Adults (By Age Group)

6.8 6.9

9.6

14.6

15.4

50 Sports Participation

28.7
22.1
36.4
9.2
15.9
50.8
2.1
6.7

Coaching
Refereeing
Running or helping sports clubs
Helping to manage sports facilities
Refereeing
Running or helping sports events
Refereeing
Running or helping sports events

National and international events

Local sports events

Day-to-day activities

Participation rate (%)

Types of spors volunteer

Table 2-20 Types of Volunteering in Sports (multiple answers)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

3.2

1.7

2.8

7.5

13.1

28.7

11.1

44.3

Frequency (times per year)

Sports Participation 51

52 Sports Participation
2. Rates and Types of Volunteering in Sports among Young
People Aged 10-19 Years
The rates of volunteering in sports among young people aged 10-19
years can be assessed based on “The 2015 SSF National Sports-Life Surveyof Young People”. As shown in Figure 2-12, the rate of young people who
responded that they had done any kind of volunteer work in sports within
the previous year hovered consistently at around 12-15% for the ten years
from 2005 to 2015, which is 6-7 percentage points higher than that of adults.
By gender, the rate of volunteering in boys (18.0%) was 5.9
percentage points higher than that of girls (12.1%), which suggests a similar
trend to that observed in adults. By school year, volunteering in sports wasdone the most during junior high school years (19.5%), followed by highschool (18.5%) and college (11.0%).
Looking at the types of volunteer work, “Judging or helping judges”
was ranked the highest at 49.4%, followed by “Helping out at sports events”
at 41.6%, and “Coaching or helping coaches” at 33.9% (Table 2-21). By
gender, while “Judging or helping judges” was the highest for boys (58.1%),“Helping out at sports events” was the highest for girls (46.1%).

(%)
20
18

Boys
18.3

13.3

12
10
8

Overall
18.0

17.6

16
14

Girls

15.0

14.1
12.7
11.3

13.9

13.5

12.8
12.1

10.2

12.1

8.5

6
4
2
0

2005

2009

2011

2013

2015 (Year)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2005-2015)

Figure 2-12 ‌Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Young
People Aged 10-19 years (By Gender)

33.9
49.4
41.6

Judging or helping judges

Helping out at sports events

Overall

Coaching or helping coaches

Types of spors voluneer

38.7

58.1

31.0

Boys

46.1

36.3

38.2

Girls

59.1

36.4

36.4

Elementary

39.8

50.0

36.7

High

56.0

28.0

36.0

College(%)

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

35.0

59.0

28.0

Junior highTable 2-21 Types of Volunteering in Sports by Young People Aged 10-19 years (multiple answers)

Sports Participation 53

54 Financial Resources for Sports

Chapter 3
Financial Resources for Sports
I. Financial Resources for Sports in Japan
1. National Budget for Sports
Figure 3-1 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 the Japan Sports
Agency: JSA. The sports budget for FY2002 was 12.2 billion yen, a number
which increased to 16.8 billion yen in FY2004 due to a concerted effort toimprove Japan’s international competitiveness for the Athens Olympics heldthat year. Although the budget saw some marginal increases each year toFY2008, a revision of the government curriculum guidelines in 2007 madethe teaching 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 sports 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 chart also divides the sports budgets into four categories:“Lifelong sports”, “Physical Education at Schools”, “High PerformanceSports”, and “Other”. From the annual changes in how much percentage ofthe overall budget was allocated to each of these four categories indicated in
Figure 4-1, “High Performance Sports” have been the greatest expendituresince FY2002, hovering around 70% since FY2010.
On the other hand, “Lifelong 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 through FY2015
indicated the specific numbers for each of these four categories, but that

2002

20.9

8.0

70.3

12,238,813

2003

17.8

8.1

73.3

12,905,802

2004

16.1

5.3

78.0

16,819,827

2005

16.9

80.2

16,401,272

2.3

2006

13.7

83.6

16,797,615

2.2
2007

10.8

86.8

18,716,682

2008

13.2

12.7

2009

9.1

29.8

60.5

2010

7.2

20.9

71.8

22,740,469

2011

8.9

23.3

67.8

22,790,469

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 3-1 Trends in the Sports Budget of MEXT and Japan Sports Agency

1.8

73.5

19,000,472

OtherHigh Performance Sports

22,529,344

Physical Education at Schools

Lifelong sports＊ 1 Percentages in 2016 are SSF estimates.
＊ 2 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(in thousands of yen)
35,000,000

2.0

2016
(Year)

11.5

16.1

68.6

3.9

Japan Sports Agency (2016)

2015

9.9

18.1

70.0

28,976,254

32,360,310

Financial Resources for Sports 55

56 Financial Resources for Sports
feature was not present in the data for 2016; SSF estimates were therefore
used for that year in the chart.
2. S‌ ports Promotion Funding from Public Interest Cooperations
Subsidy Programs of the Japan Sport Council (JSC)
The Japan Sport Council uses proceeds from the Sports Promotion
Lottery (known as “toto”) and the operating profit of the Sports Promotion
Fund to provide subsidies to sports organizations and local government
bodies with the goal of promoting lifelong sports and improving
international competitiveness.
Sports Promotion Lottery
In 1998, the “Act on Carrying Out, etc. Sports Promotion Lottery”
was enacted to secure financial resources for sports promotion. Based on
the law, a Sports Promotion Lottery was introduced in 2001 which allowed
people across Japan to bet on the outcomes of J. League matches; since
2002, a portion of the lottery’s profit has been used to operate subsidy
programs for sports promotion.
Half of the proceeds from lottery sales are paid to the winners.
Miscellaneous expenses as well as 10% for designated funds are thendeducted from the other half; of the remainder, one-fourth is paid to thenational treasury and three-fourths is used to subsidize the sports-promotion
projects of municipalities and sports organizations (Figure 3-2). Designatedfunds are financial resources allotted for the maintenance of facilities that
contribute to the efficient implementation of international sporting events,
but are currently being used to construct the New National Stadium.
The subsidies provided to municipalities and sports organizations
are allocated to projects focused on the promotion of lifelong sports―
including the operation of comprehensive community sports clubs (seepage.112) and local sporting events―as well as those related to improving
competitiveness, for instance through the identification and development of
talented athletes.
Sales for the “toto” lottery dropped by nearly one-fifth following
its launch in FY2001, from 64.3 billion yen in the first year to 13.5 billion
yen in FY2006 (Table 3-1). However, sales rebounded following the debutof “BIG” (which allowed predictions to be made randomly by a computer
rather than chosen by lottery buyers) on September 16, 2006, reaching
63.7 billion yen in FY2007. Strong sales continued, and then in May 2012
the law was amended to allow lottery players to select not only J. League
matches, but also those of foreign football leagues, allowing for sales toTExpenses

Sales revenue

Designated
funds
10％

systemthe others

Printing and distribution

Advertising

Payouts

Ordering

Sports promotions activities

Profitlocal
governments

Payments
to the National
Treasury←1 / 4→

sportsorganizations

Subsidies fromthe lottery profit

Screening committee ofsports promotion
subsidy←3 / 4→

Instruction, supervision

X

Japan Sport Council
(JSC)

E

Sales

M

Figure 3-2 Sports Promotion Lottery System and Allocation of Sales Revenue (2016)

50%

Prize payments

Lottery spendingGame results

Specifying games

Payouts

Forecasting

Sports used forthe lottery(J.League etc.)

Appointment of sports
organization for thelottery

Financial Resources for Sports 57

58 Financial Resources for Sports
continue during seasons with no J. League matches. As a result, “toto” sales
hit a record high in FY2013, exceeding 100 billion yen for the first time.
Sports Promotion FundThe Sports Promotion Fund was created in 1990 through agovernment contribution of 25 billion yen. Established within the National
Stadium and School Health Center of Japan, a predecessor of the JSC, thefund was intended to enhance high performance sports, as well as increasing
participation in grassroots sports. Using operating capital of 29.4 billion
yen, which was accrued by combining the initial government fund and an
additional 4.4 billion yen donated by the private sector, JSC has been able
to provide subsidies to sports organizations with the purpose of enhancing
performance of athletes, hosting sporting events, and supporting activities
of athletes and their coaches/instructors. However, a budget revision in 2016
eliminated half of the government’s 25 billion yen contribution to allowthat 12.5 billion yen to be used toward a share of the New National Stadium
construction costs.
Table 3-1 ‌Trends in Sales Proceeds from the Sports Promotion
Lottery and Subsidy Amounts(in millions of yen)
FY

Sales proceeds

Amount of Subsidies (Number of subsidized projects)

2001

64,267−

2002

36,0585,913 ＜ 1,644 ＞

2003

19,8772,427 ＜ 1,311 ＞

2004

15,695582 ＜ 291 ＞

2005

14,905250 ＜ 269 ＞

2006

13,471118 ＜ 185 ＞

2007

63,71280 ＜ 116 ＞

2008

89,741858 ＜ 348 ＞

2009

78,547

5,768 ＜ 1,210 ＞

2010

84,812

8,926 ＜ 1,562 ＞

2011

82,674

12,798 ＜ 2,620 ＞

2012

86,106

14,662 ＜ 2,802 ＞

2013

108,056

15,116 ＜ 2,841 ＞

2014

110,797

16,994 ＜ 2,742 ＞

2015

108,419

15,361 ＜ 2,384 ＞

2016

−

22,117 ＜ 2,295 ＞

Note1：The subsidy uses the proceeds of the previous year as the capital. The subsidized amount is the amount granted.
Note2：Those appropriated to subsidize sports activities for athletes and trainers are excluded.
Japan Sports Council (2016)

Financial Resources for Sports 59
Total subsidies for the 2016 fiscal year amounted to 1.39 billion yen,which was on par with the totals for FY2010 and FY2013 (Table 3-2). But
800 million yen of that, which was earmarked for the athlete aid subsidy andthe subsidy that supports the activities of athletes and coaches, was financedby the Sports Promotion Lottery via the strong sales of “toto”; the fund itself
contributed 600 million yen to the subsidies.
Subsidies for Project to Enhance High Performance Sports
Under the subsidy program for projects to enhance high performancesports, government grants are distributed to the National Governing Bodies(NGB) of the Olympic sports and to the Japan Top Leagues (top ballleagues) and its alliance members in Japan. The aim of this program is tosupport athletes with the goal of surpassing the existing record of medals
won at the Olympic Games, as well as reaching a record of prize winners
in the World Championships (which is one of the policy goals set out in
the Sport Basic Plan (2012)). For this subsidy program, there are two types
of funding available: subsidies to "Sports Organizations’ Enhancement
Activities for Priority Sports" and subsidies to "Sports Organizations’Operational Activities of Top-League Teams". The budget for FY2016
included 295 million yen for these subsidies.
Financial Resources for Sports Promotion from Public Lotteries
Revenue derived from public gambling such as horse racing,powerboat racing, Keirin (cycling racing) and motorcycle racing has beenutilized in various fields, and for projects contributing to the public interest
such as social welfare and international development. Much of this revenue
has also been apportioned to sports projects. From the 13.8 billion yen inrevenue from public races, sports-related projects received 1.5 billion yen,accounting for approximately 10.9% of the total (Table 3-3).
The largest fund for sports projects was received in revenue from
Keirin and motorcycle race, totaling approximately 950 million yen in
FY2016 to subsidies for promoting bicycle and motorcycle races as well as
sports. This was followed by 590 million yen in funds from boat racing, and19 million yen from horse racing.
Some of the revenue from motorboat racing has been used for
promoting life-long sports through the activities of the Sasakawa Sports
Foundation (SSF). SSF implemented "SSF Sports Aid" and "SSF Water
Sports Aid" over the years from 1991 to 2010. Sports Aid and Water Sports
Aid opened applications from incorporated foundations and corporations,NPOs and other private organizations, resulting in a total of 5 billion yen−
0 ＜ 0 ＞＊ 5＊2

5．Subsidy for internationally competitive sports
activities
1,289,649 ＜ 616 ＞

0 ＜ 0 ＞＊ 5−

640,150 ＜ 445 ＞＊ 3

313,257 ＜ 128 ＞

Note：the subsidized amount refers to the amount granted.
＊ 1 Formerly named " Subsidy for the activities of athletes and instructors".
＊ 2 This category started in 2014.
＊ 3 Those allocated from Sports promotion lottery subsidies.
＊ 4 Based on the budget of 2016.
＊ 5 This does not mean that the subsidy category has been abolished, but only that there were simply no eligible projects for the subsidy.

Total
1,367,861 ＜ 846 ＞

640,156 ＜ 588 ＞＊ 3

3．Subsidy for improvement activities of athletes
and trainers ＊ 1

4．Subsidy for athletes

394,715 ＜ 136 ＞

2．Subsidy for sports organization's hosting ofsports events

Subsidized amount<Number of subsidized projects>

Subsidized amount<Number of subsidized projects>
336,242 ＜ 43 ＞

2013

2010

332,990 ＜ 122 ＞

FY

1．Subsidy for sports organization's enhancement
activities for athletes

Subsidy category

Table 3-2 Trends‌and Breakdown of Sports Promotion Fund Subsidies

Japan Sports Council (2016)

1,398,850 ＜ 176 ＞

0 ＜ 0 ＞＊ 5

3800,000 ＊＊4

565,190 ＜ 164 ＞

33,660 ＜ 12 ＞

Subsidized amount<Number of subsidized projects>

2016(in thousands of yen)

60 Financial Resources for Sports

19,031 ＜ 1 ＞

948,371 ＜ 44 ＞

1,559,676 ＜ 67 ＞

2,422,032 ＜ 35 ＞

2,794,995 ＜ 245 ＞

13,809,674 ＜ 2,784 ＞

Horse racing ＊ 2

Keirin/Motorcycle racing ＊ 3

Total

11.3

33.9

0.8

6.9

Ratio of total amount provided to sports
projects to the amount provided to public
interest projects (%)(in thousands of yen)

The Nippon Foundation, Japan Racing Association and JKA (2016)

592,274 ＜ 13 ＞

8,592,647 ＜ 2,504 ＞

Mortorboat racing ＊ 1＊ 1 The amount and number of subsidies from public interest or welfare-reated prjects. Based on the ﬁnancial results for FY2015.
＊ 2 The amount and number of subsidies to farming promotion projects. Based on the budget of FY2016.
＊ 3 The amount and number of subsidies from grants to the promotion of public interest projects. Based on the ﬁnancial results FY2016.

The total amount provided to sports
projects<Number of projects subsidized>

The total amount provided to public
interest projects<Number of projects subsidized>

Public gambling

Table 3-3 Funding‌for Sports Projects through Revenues from Public Gambling

Financial Resources for Sports 61

62 Financial Resources for Sports
being spent on 8,000 projects over 20 years. These projects include various
events, classes and seminars held by a wide range of sports organizations.
Since 2011, SSF has also been operating the Sasakawa Sports Research
Grants Program to promote sports by supporting prominent research
projects. This program provides funding for young researchers in the fields
of humanities and social science, and subsidies that contribute to makenational sports policies. Over the past three years, SSF has granted a total of
113 million yen to 174 research projects.

Financial Resources for Sports 63

II. ‌Financial Resource for Sports in Local
Government
1. Costs related to Sports in Local Government
The Japan Sports Agency defines the “Physical Education Facility
Costs etc.” described in the Annual Statistical Report of Local Public
Finance published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
as “costs related to sports in local government”; the yearly changes in thesecosts since 1989 are indicated in Figure 3-3. Costs related to sports in local
government increased from 642 billion yen in FY1989 to a record high of
1,008 billion yen in FY1995. Following that peak, however, they began acontinuous decline until FY2005, after which the costs hovered around 500
billion yen year to year. The costs began to increase again from FY2013
onward, reaching 582.6 billion yen in FY2014, or approximately half of thatwhich was seen in FY1995. The percentage of total municipal expendituresthat costs related to municipal sports comprised followed a similar trend,
expanding from 0.88% in FY1989 to peak at 1.02% in FY1995. It thenbegan an annual decline which bottomed out at 0.49% in FY2011; in
FY2012, it began climbing again and reached 0.59% in FY2014.
Examining the breakdown of these sports-related costs, changes in
the overall amount were influenced by fluctuations in general construction
project costs. General construction project costs are funds invested intoacquiring land for, building, or expanding fire-fighting facilities or publicworks infrastructure like roadways, bridges, rivers, or harbors, educational
facilities such as schools, and public facilities such as community centersand public housing. Here, the term indicates those funds that were used
for sports-related costs. Totaling 355 billion yen in FY1989, general
construction project costs subsequently increased to 601.6 billion yen by
FY1995, when the total amount of sports-related costs were also at theirpeak. General construction project costs then decreased along with thetotal until FY2007, which was the lowest point for both them (95.7 billion
yen) and overall sports-related costs (473 billion yen). Increases in general
construction project costs were a major factor in overall cost increases from
FY2013 onwards.
On the other hand, expenditures such as labor costs, maintenance andrepair costs, and social assistance costs have only experience minor changes
over this 25-year time span. It is worth noting that maintenance and repair
costs have remained almost unchanged since FY1989 despite an increase in
the number of public sports facilities. Non-personnel costs increased from115.9 billion yen in FY1989 to a hight of 234.9 billion yen in FY2002.

64 Financial Resources for Sports
Although they went on to decline following that peak, they still totaled 221.5
billion yen in FY2014, an increase of over 100 billion yen compared to
FY1989. Non-personnel costs are generally a municipality’s overhead costs
that don’t fall into the category of personnel costs, maintenance and repair
costs, or social assistance costs; especially non-personnel costs including
things such as employee travel expenses, the costs of procuring equipment,
and contractor fees.

0

2,000

4,000

6,000

8,000

10,00012,000

0.95

0.94

5,242

5,314

243

1.01

5,550

1.02

6,016

0.95

5,206

200

0.92

4,629

0.81

3,806

0.75

3,360

0.74

7,237

2,915

136

7,657

129

8,124
171

8,981

170

9,437

158

10,084
196

9,484

189

9,158

0.98

2,447

93

0.67

6,358

106

6,823

0.70

5,676

0.61

5,380

0.59

5,117

0.56
0.55
0.53

0.54
0.52

0.52

Ratio of Sport Costs at Local Gevernments

Other

0.49

0.51

5,341

0.55

5,826

0.59

Social Assistance

Maintainance and Repair
General Construction Projects

Non Personnel Expences

Personnnel Expenses

0.60

0.80

1.00

(%)

789

1990

718

1989

4,228

1991

861

1993

958
1994

985
1995

990
1996

1,018
1997

1,035
1998

1,010
1999

988
2000

979
2001

983
2002

948

2004

887

65

2005

868

2006

817

2007

794

2008

761

2009

721

2010

685

2011

681

2012

676

642
2013

654
2014

0.00
（Year）

Annual Statistics on Local Public Finance, Ministry of Internal Afﬁars and Communications (1991-2016)

2003

890

76

Figure 3-3 Trends in the Sports Related Costs of Local Governments

1992

913

2,035

106

205
4,877 4,730 4,821 5,015 4,898 4,799 4,955
119
0.40
72
142
148
2,056
79
84
104
1,559 1,337
1,717
3,550
1,151 1,124 163 957 1,176 1,432 1,300
1,304
1,254
851
815
805
800
853
810
761
829
749
724
826
112
105
764
691
104
110
103
99
631
800
597
615
102
603
608
628
102
106
581
585
102
105
709
97
92
89
100
93
96
97
90
93
107
96
646
105
575
0.20
108
2,194 2,225 2,270 2,296 2,337 2,349 2,259 2,225 2,206
509
99
2,082
2,077 2,093 2,091 2,090 2,091 2,079 2,127 2,145 2,215
1,790 1,891 1,988
92
1,632
1,477
1,159 1,301

4,365

0.99

8,843

385

7,842

497

7,490

395

6,424

0.88

（in millions yen）

Financial Resources for Sports 65

66 Financial Resources for Sports

III. Funds for Sport Organizations
1. ‌Funds for Independent Administrative Agencies and Sports
Organizations
Independent administrative sports agencies and the governing bodies
of each sport are the organizations that support the promotion of sports
in Japan. These organizations obtain revenue through various means that
include government grants, consignment fees from government bodies andmembership fees from affiliated organizations. These funds are then used tohelp support a wide range of initiatives for promotion of sports.
Japan Sport Council (JSC)
The revenue of JSC was 168.5 billion yen for FY2015 (Table 3-4).
The breakdown of this revenue included 109 billion yen in income from theSports Promotion Lottery, 13 billion yen in grants from MEXT for operating
expenses, and 2.1 billion yen in income from operating the National
Stadium.
JSC’s total expenditures for FY2015 were 178.6 billion yen. The
breakdown for the expenditures in the lottery account included 54.2 billion
in payments of lottery prizes, 9.6 billion yen in payments to the nationaltreasury, 18.8 billion yen for operational expenses, and 16.6 billion yen
for subsidy programs. Others included 935 million yen for the operational
expenses of the National Training Center and 16.5 billion yen for theoperational expenses of the Japan Institute of Sports Science (JISS).
Table 3-4 Revenue and Expenditure of Sports Organizations
Name of organization

Japan Sport Council

Total amount for FY2015
Revenue(yen)Expenditures(yen)168,571,107,800

178,682,228,293

Japan Sports Assciation

3,988,127,003

3,952,307,491

Japanese Olympic Committee

12,874,915,975

11,076,934,545

696,226,954

706,108,291

2,060,011,444

2,009,228,747

National Recreation Association of Japan
Japanese Para-Sports Association

Data from each organization (2016)

Financial Resources for Sports 67
Japan Sports Association (JASA)
The revenue of JASA for FY2015 was 3.9 billion yen. The
breakdown of this revenue included 1.6 billion yen from received subsidies,
200 million yen from donations, 1 billion yen in business profits and 778
million yen from registration fees (such as registration fees for certified
sports instructors). The breakdown of the received subsidies included 1
billion yen in Sports Promotion Lottery subsidies (for supporting projects
such as the establishment and development of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs), 431 million yen in national subsidies (for projects such as
the Japan-Korea Sports Exchange Program). Most of the accrued revenue
from received donations came from the financial world.The JASA’s total
expenditures for FY2016 were 3.9 billion yen. The breakdown of these
expenditures included 3.8 billion yen for operational expenses and 73
million yen for management expenses.
Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC)
The revenue of JOC for FY2015 was 12.8 billion yen. The breakdownof this revenue included 5.2 billion yen from received subsidies, 6.3 billion
yen in business profits, and 1.1 billion yen from received corporate and noncorporate subsidies. The breakdown for the received subsidies included
4.6 billion yen in national subsidies (such as the grants for various sports
organizations), 348 million yen in Sports Promotion Lottery subsidies,and 280 million yen in grants from other organizations including theInternational Olympic Committee (IOC). In terms of business profits,royalties from the use of the Olympic symbols (such as charges for the useof intellectual property, including marks, emblems and slogans) raised thehighest amount of revenue at 6.2 billion yen.
The JOC’s total expenditures for FY2015 were 11 billion yen. The
breakdown of these expenditures included 3.6 billion yen for operational
expenses, 2.4 billion yen for international sports exchange projects, 1.9
billion yen for training camp expenses, 1.5 billion yen for projects toimprove coaching skills, 2.4 billion yen for international sports exchange
projects, and 494 million yen for the operational expenses of the National
Training Center.
National Recreation Association of Japan (NRAJ)
The revenue of NRAJ for FY2015 was 696 million yen. The
breakdown of this revenue included 592 million yen in business profits and86 million yen in received subsidies. The highest proportion of the businessprofits were generated from the registration of qualification certificates,

68 Financial Resources for Sports
which amounted to 343 million yen.
The total expenditures for FY2015 were 706 million yen. The
breakdown of these expenditures included 685 million yen for operational
expenses and 21 million yen for management expenses.
Japanese Para-Sports Association
Financial records of the Japanese Para-Sports Association show arevenue of 2.06 billion yen for FY2015. Of this amount, 1.3 billion yen wasfrom received subsidies, 320 million yen was from received donations, and
215 million yen was from operational proceeds. Private subsidies made up
the highest percentage of received subsidies at 1.1 billion yen.
Expenditures for FY2015 totaled 2.0 billion yen. Of this number,
1.9 billion yen was spent on operational costs and 67 million yen on
administrative costs. Operational costs consisted of expenses such as paid
subsidies (1.0 billion yen) and contractor fees (210 million yen).
2. ‌Structure of the Balance of Payments of the National
Governing Bodies of Sports (NGBs)
Flow of Funds within the NGBs
The revenue of NGBs was roughly divided into: "revenue fromathletes/organizations", "business revenue", "subsidies/grants", "donations"and "asset management revenue." The breakdown of the "revenue fromathletes/organizations" included annual membership fees and registration
fees, which were expenses borne by each subject participating in acompetition as an athlete, team or local organization. On the other
hand, the "business revenue" included admission fees from spectators,
financial support from sponsors and broadcasting right fees, which canbe characterized as compensation for services provided by the relevantorganizations.
The expenditures were largely divided into maintenance expenses,
operating expenses and the cost of asset acquisitions. The detailed items
included in the operating costs varied depending on each organization. The
operating costs were categorized into "enhancement", "development" and"promotion" depending on its purposes. There were also many organizations
that categorized the expenditure based on the outward form of the activity,
such as "training camp or trip" or "holding competitions" rather thancategorizing it based on the purpose of the activities.

Financial Resources for Sports 69
Revenue Size of the NGBs
The distribution of revenue size is shown in Figure 3-4. The averageannual revenue was 952 million yen. However, this average is not definite
because of one particular organization having an annual revenue that issignificantly higher (20.3 billion yen) than the others. The median was 353
million yen, the first quartile was 139 million yen and the third quartile
was 795 million yen. The most frequent value (for 14 organizations) was
less than 100 million yen. As these values indicate, there is a significant
difference in the size of revenue among NGBs. Although it is difficult toconclude what a "typical size of the revenue" is, it may be reasonable to saythat the median value of 200 million yen is the typical size for a NGB.
The total amount of revenue for all 62 organizations was 59 billion
yen. For comparison purposes, the closing account for revenue in FY2015
was approximately 40 billion yen for JASA, and 12.9 billion yen for JOC.
Except for one organization, the size of the revenue for each NGBs was
significantly smaller than that of JASA or JOC, but it can be concluded that
overall, a significant flow of funds is involved among NGBs.

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

0

14

1

4

3

9

4

2

5

5

6

7

3

8

2

9

1

10

11

2

12

1

13

1

14

15

Average value：952 million yen

Third quartile：795 million yen

16

17

18

19

1

20

2

22

1

23

24

25

26

27

28

30

203

1

(in millions of yen)

29

1

SSF Census of the National Governing Bodies of Sports (2017)21

3

Figure 3-4 Distribution of Revenue Size (Budgets) for National Governing Bodies of Sports

2

9Median value：353 million yen（Organization）
16
First quartile：139 million yen

70 Financial Resources for Sports

Financial Resources for Sports 71

IV. Gross Domestic Sports ProductIn its report published in 2015, the Development Bank of Japanestimated that Japan’s Gross Domestic Sports Product (GDSP) was 11.4085
trillion yen in FY 2012 (Table 3-5). The greatest contributor to the GDSP
was “Government-Controlled Competitive Sports” (4.336 trillion yen),followed by “Facilities” (2.1148 trillion yen), “Retail” (1.667 trillion yen),and “Education” (1.5682 trillion yen). Total GDSP was 22.7% lower than
the 14.751 trillion yen generated in FY2002. The largest changes occurredwith the “Other” (Sports Promotion Lottery “toto” and sports insurance)and “Entertainment” categories, which increased by 156.1% and 132.7%
respectively. Meanwhile, other categories decreased significantly; “Videos
and Video Games” (-38.6%), “Facilities” (-35.8%), “Books and Magazines”(-33.0%), and “Government-Controlled Competitive Sports” (-28.6%).
The Japanese government has recognized sports as a key industry andis promoting strategic initiatives within the sports business world; as part ofthat push, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Japan Sports
Agency jointly launched the “Future Sports Development Conference” inFebruary 2016. The government is trying to expand the scale of the sports
industry from 5.5 trillion yen in FY2012 to 15.2 trillion yen by FY2025 inorder to reach its GDP goal of 600 trillion yen. This 5.5 trillion yen number
was calculated by adding “Retail” (1.7 trillion yen), “Entertainment” (300billion yen), “Facilities” (2.1 trillion yen), and the total of “Leasing”,“Travel”, “Broadcasting and Newspapers”, “Books and Magazines”, “Videos
and Video Games”, and “Other” (1.4 trillion yen).
The government’s plan to increase the GDSP by roughly 10 trillion
yen is threefold: reforming stadiums and arenas, which will transform thosefacilities from cost centers to profit centers; strengthening the operationof sports content owners by increasing the revenue of national sports
federations, and considering the creation of a Japanese equivalent of theUnited States’ National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); andenhancing the competitiveness of industries in the sports field by uniting itwith other fields such as tourism, cuisine, and modern technology.

8,356

Travel※ 1 Sports Promotion Lottery and sports insurance※ 2 Public gambling sports.

Total excluding Public sports

Total

Government-Controlled
Competitive Sports ※ 2

86,740147,510

60,770380

469

Video and Video Games

Other

1,875

Books and Magazines

※1

4,937

Broadcasting and Newspapers

17,091

283

Leasing

Education

32,961

1,222

19,166

FacilityEntertainment

RetailCategory

Nominal GDSP
as of 2002(in ¥100 million)

ー

100.0

41.2

0.3

0.3

1.3

3.3

11.6

5.7

0.2

22.3

0.8

13.0

Ratio (%)

70,725

114,085ーー

43,360

973

288

1,257

4,175

15,682

7,419

270

21,1482,843

16,670Nominal GDSP
as of 2012(in ¥100 million)

ー

0.4

0.5

2.2

5.7

19.7

9.6

0.3

38.0

1.4

22.1

Ratio
(excluding
public sports)(%)

Table 3-5 Estimated Gross Domestic Sports Product (GDSP)

ー

100.0

38.0

0.9

0.3

1.1

3.7

13.7

6.5

0.2

18.5

2.5

14.6

Ratio (%)

-18.5

-22.7

-28.6

156.1

-38.6

-33.0

-15.4

-8.2

-11.2

-4.6

-35.8

132.7

-13.0

Compared to2002 (%)

Development Bank of Japan Inc. (2015)

ー

ー

ー

1.4

0.4

1.8

5.9

22.2

10.5

0.4

29.9

4.0

23.6

Ratio
(excluding
public sports)(%)

72 Financial Resources for Sports

Sports Facilities 73

Chapter 4
Sports Facilities
I. Current Status of Sports Facilities
1. Public, Private and School Facilities
According to the “Social Education Survey” of Ministry of Education,
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the number of public
sports facilities in Japan increased from the time the survey started in the
1950s through the 1990s. However, the number stayed almost at the samelevel after 2002. In 2011, the number of public sports facilities was 47,531(Figure 4-1). On the other hand, the number of private sports facilities
reached a peak in 1996 with 18,146, then continued to decline through 2015
where the number was recorded as 15,363.
Moreover, many schools and educational organizations own sports
facilities such as gymnasiums, playgrounds and swimming pools, which areused for their physical education classes or school sports clubs. According
to the “Survey on the Current Status of Facilities for Physical Education andSports Activities” (2008) conducted by MEXT, there were 136,276 “school
sports facilities” (in elementary, junior high, high, vocational schools, etc.)
and 8,375 sports facilities at universities, colleges and technical colleges.
In addition, the number of sports facilities for the welfare of employeesamounted to 6,827, and 5,807 facilities were recorded being located withactivity centers such as community centers, youth education facilities andwomen’s education centers.
In Table 4-1, the number of public sports facilities and school sports
facilities are shown by facility types. The public sports facilities were
dominated by multi-purpose playgrounds (7,568), followed by gymnasiums(7,112), and baseball and softball fields (6,267). For school sports facilities,
there were 37,339 gymnasiums, 35,933 multi-purpose playgrounds (withgrounds of 992m2 or more), and 28,171 swimming pools (outdoor).
2. Financial Resources for Sports Facilities
In Japan, public sports facilities are generally maintained or ownedby the local government where the facility is located. Under the present
difficult financial conditions, maintaining any facility can be a challenge,
whether it be an existing public sports facility or any facility that has been

0

10,00020,00030,00040,00050,000（Places）

1955

1,634

1960

1,848

1968

1971

7,146

1978

13,662

1981

19,391

1984

24,605

1987

13,44732,011

1993

16,08835,9501996

18,14641,997

1999

17,738

2002

2005

2011

2015
(Year)
Social Education Survey (MEXT, 1955-2015)2008

15,36347,531

15,53247,571

17,32347,925

16,78048,055

16,81447,321Figure 4-1 Number of Public and Private Sports Facilities in Japan

1963

2,524

4,659

Private sports facilities

Public sports facilities

46,55474 Sports Facilities

Sports Facilities 75
newly constructed. Although the cost of maintenance or refurbishments forexisting sports facilities is becoming a burden for local government, thesefacilities are still highly important for the local residents. Therefore, further
efforts should be made by local governments to secure financial resources.
Table 4-2 shows some of the main subsidy and grant programs
that are available for maintaining public sports facilities. These programs
are financed by the national treasury, and the financial resources formaintaining public sports facilities mainly come from the general fundsof local governments, municipal bonds, government subsidies andprefectural subsidies. Among those programs, the grants from Ministry ofLand, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT) have been making aparticularly strong contribution to maintaining public sports facilities.
Grant for School Facility Improvement
Funds required to implement the projects outlined in the facility
improvement plans created by local municipalities in accordance with article
12-2 of the Act on National Treasury's Sharing of Expenses for Facilities
of Compulsory Education Schools, etc. (2006) are provided by the national
government in the form of the Grant for School Facility Improvement, asestablished in the first paragraph of the same article. This grant program
began in 2011 and is under the jurisdiction of MEXT.
Until 2005, the Subsidy for Public Sports Facilities Maintenance
Table 4-1 ‌Number of Public Sports Facilities and School Sports
Facilities by Facility Types
Public sports facilities

School sports facilities

Multi-purpose
playgrounds

7,568

35,933Gymnasiums

7,112

37,339Baseball / softball ﬁelds

6,267

1,914

Tennis courts (outdoor)

4,810

9,542

Swimming pools(outdoor)

1,874

28,171

Gateball / Croquet ﬁelds

1,839

2

Training Centres

1,715

1,747

Social Education Survey (MEXT, 2015)
Survey on the Current Status of Facilities for Physical Education and Sports Activies (MEXT, 2008)

1974 ～

1974 ～

Subsidies for Stabilizing
People's Livelihoods

Grant for Environmental
Improvement of Areas with
Speciﬁed Defense Facilities

2015 ～

2005 ～

1974 ～

Grant for Areas with ElectricPower Stations

Grant for Maintenance of
Natural Environment

2013 ～

2010 ～

Grant for Comprehensive
Social Infrastructure
Development

Grant for Disaster Prevetionand Safety

2011 ～

PeriodGrant for School Facility
Improvement

Program

METI：Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry

MEXT：Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
MLIT：Ministry of Land, Infrastracture, Transport and Tourism

Ministry ofEnvironment

Ministry of
Defence

METI/MEXT

MLIT

MEXT

Ministry

139

360

234

985

10,9479,018

231

Budget in 2015
(in hundred million yen)

1/2
1/3

Facilities of disaster prevention parks
Lands of disaster prevention parks

1/2

Up to 45%

The amount of the grant
is determined by eachmunicipality.

SSF Research on Subsidy and Grant System for Public Sports Facilities (2016)

Nature trail at National park

Nature trail at quasi National park

Sports or recreational facility

7.5/107.5/10

2/3

Green area and other public spaces at outdoor sports ground
Sports and recreational facilities combined with exhibitionand classes related to sports
Sports and Educational facilities promoting international
exchange

6/10

Green area and other public spaces at parks

The amount of the grant
is determined by eachmunicipality.

1/3

Lands of city parks

Gymnasium, swimming pool, sports ground, park, green area,
ski resort, skating rink, camp ground, promenade, cyclyng
road, etc.

1/2

1/3

Subsidy rate

Facilities of city parks

Public sports centers, public swimming pools, public outdoor
sports centers, puclic martial arts centers, etc.

Sports facilities

Table 4-2 Major Subsidy and Grant Programs for Sports Facility Maintenance76 Sports Facilities

Sports Facilities 77
provided the funds needed to maintain public athletics facilities, whichmake up a large percentage of public sports facilities. In line with the ideas
set forth in the Sports Promotion Act (1961), this grant was offered to local
municipalities with the intention of promoting sports by improving sports
facilities; 1 billion yen was appropriated for this purpose in 2005 (Table
4-3). Then in 2006, the so-called “trinity reforms” (revision of the costsharing details of government grants, transfer of tax revenue sources, andrevision of tax allocated to local governments) led to the Subsidy for PublicSports Facilities Maintenance and other grants being converted into the
Grant for Safe and Reliable School Development. Then, the grant program
was renamed in 2011 as Grant for School Facility Improvement, which how
it is known today.
Table 4-3 ‌Trends in the Amounts of Subsidies for Public Sports
Facility Maintenance from MEXT
Fiscal year

Amount(in thousands of yen)

2000

2,369,554

2001

1,472,114

2002

1,286,094

2003

1,169,080

2004

1,060,420

2005

1,023,000

2006

49,499,000

2007

70,970,000

Grant for safe and reliable school development

2008

74,867,000

2009

75,068,000＊ The amount of the subsidy for public sports
facility maintenance is included in this grant, but
its details are unknown.

2010

78,354,000

2011

43,587,000

2012

24,339,0002013

39,477,000

2014

19,731,000

2015

23,094,000

2016

28,188,000

Program

Subsidy for public sports facility maintenance

Grant for school facility improvement＊ The amount of the subsidy for public sports
facility maintenance is included in this grant, but
its details are unknown.

Note：Initial budget is shown.
Funding related to the National Stadium and the Nagano Winter Olympic Games is not included.

MEXT(2016)

78 Sports Facilities
Subsidy for Community Sports Facility MaintenanceIn addition to the government-funded subsidy programs, there isa subsidy program which is financed by revenue from the sales of theSports Promotion Lottery (toto). This program, operated by the JapanSport Council (JSC), is known as the “Sports Promotion Lottery Subsidy.”
Among the various subsidy programs offered under the Sports Promotion
Lottery Subsidy, the “Community Sports Facility Maintenance Subsidy” andthe “Large-Scale Sports Facility Maintenance Subsidy” are the two main
programs available for sports facilities.
The Community Sports Facility Maintenance Subsidy supports
three types of projects: maintenance of sports clubhouses, planting lawnon pitches, and maintenance of sports facilities. Subsidies are available
to eligible candidates from local governments, sports associations andcomprehensive community sports clubs with a corporate capacity. In 2016, a
total subsidy amount of 7.19 billion yen was provided to 284 projects.
The Large-Scale Sports Facility Maintenance Subsidy is a program
intended to support the maintenance of the stadiums of J. League clubs andthe venues for the Winter National Sports Festivals. In 2016, a total subsidy
amount of 3.81 billion yen was provided to 7 projects.

Sports Facilities 79

II. Sports Facilities for High Performance Sports
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 high performanceathletes.
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.
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 sports 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 andresearch activities. Since 2016, JSC has been teamed up with the JapaneseOlympic Committee and Japanese Paralympic Committee to manage andoperate the facilities.
3. Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities
Since 2007, MEXT designated a number of existing facilities
as “Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities”. The
background for such designation is the need to establish a network between
sports in which training facilities for elite athletes are available at the NTC,
and those sports in which training facilities are not available at the NTC.
This includes winter sports, water sports and outdoor sports, as well as highaltitude training. As of February 2017, 28 facilities have been designated as“Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities” for 22 sports
and a high-altitude training activity (Table 4-4).

Total：22 sports, 28 facilities

High-altitude training

Hida ontake kougen highland sports training area
Zao bodaira athlete village

Phoenix Seagaia Resort
Tokyo Tatsumi International swimming center

Triathlon

DivingKumagaya Sports Culture Park
Phoenix Seagaia Resort

Rugby sevens

Archery

Golf

Japan Self-Defense Forces physical training school
Yamaha resort archery stadium, "Tsumagoi"

Modern pentathlon

Kanagawa prefectual Isehara shooting range

Shooting cray target

Japan Sports Agency (2017)

Gifu
YamagataTokyo

MiyazakiMiyazaki

SaitamaShizuoka

Saitama

Kanagawa

SaitamaShizuoka

Gotenba horsemanship and sports center
Nagatoro shooting range

CylingEquestrian

Gifu

Osaka

Shooting raiﬂe

Gifu prefectural green stadium

HockeyToyamaShizuoka

J-Green Sakai

Ishikawa

Saitama

NaganoNaganoHokkaido

Japan cycle sports center ※Toyama city sports canoe center

Wakayama sailing center (Dinghy marina)
Toda park boat course & Toda boathouse

SailingBoating

Football

Nishioka biathlon stadium

Biathlon

Canoeing slalom

Karuizawa kazakoshi park arena curling stadium (Karuizawa ice park)

Curling

Kibagata canoe course ※Wakayama

Nagano bobsleigh luge park, "The Spiral"

Bobsleigh/luge

Canoeing sprint

Hokkaido

Tomakomai city Hakucho arena

Ice hockey

NaganoTeisan ice skate training center

Aichi

Hokkaido
NaganoNaganoHokkaido

Location

Chukyo university, "Aurora hall"

Designated facilities

Sapporo jump stadium (Okurayama, Miyanomori)Hakuba ski jumping stadium and Hakuba cross country course
Nagano olympig memorial arena, "M-Wave"
Meiji Hokkaido-Tokachi oval (an indoor speed skating rink in the Obihiro-no-mori)

Short track speed skatingSports category

Figure skating

Speed skating

Ski Jumping
Nordic skiing※ Joint use with Paralympic athletes.
As of Feburary 2017.

OthersOutdoor sports

Water sports

Winter sports

Category

Table 4-4 Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center Facilities

80 Sports Facilities

Sports Facilities 81
Since 2016, NTC training centers focused on Paralympic events havealso been designated. Fifteen facilities have been designated for 15 different
events as of February 2017 (Table 4-5).
Table 4-5 ‌Event-Specific Affiliated National Training Center
Facilities for Paralympics
Sports category

Designated facilities

Location

Athletics

Tanabe Sports Park

Wakayama

Wheelchair tennis

The Yoshida Memorial Tennis Training Center

Chiba

Triathlon

Phoenix Seagaia Resort

MiyazakiFootball 5-a-side

ZOZOPARK HONDA FOOTBALL AREA

Chiba

Biathlon

Abashiri Shooting Range

Hokkaido

Para ice hockey

Yamabiko Skating Complex

NaganoWheelchair 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

Saitama

Swimming

Paul Rusch Athletics CenterTokyo

Wheelchair fencing

Former Kyoto City Sanno Elementary School

Kyoto

Total：15 sports,
15 facilities
Total facilities includes 3 joint use with Olympic sports.
As of Feburary 2017.

Japan Sports Agency (2017)

82 Sports Facilities

III. Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities
1. Sports Centers for People with Disabilities
Sports 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” (2016) reported that there were 139
such facilities in Japan in 2015. Of these, 96.5% of facilities are equippedwith gymnasiums, 41.2% with training rooms, 39.5% with swimming pools,
22.8% with playgrounds, 17.5% with archery ranges, 15.8% with tabletennis rooms, and 9.6% with tennis courts.
Along with universal design features, such as the elimination of steps,
the installation of Braille blocks and barrier-free restrooms, to accommodate
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 with disabilities toparticipate in sports, as well as full-time disability sports instructors areavailable in most of the centers, which often serve as a community hub fordisability sports activities.
According to the same survey above, 85.5% of these facilities arerun by designated managers, while 14.5% are managed directly by theirlocal governments. Of the facilities with designated managers, 30.2% aremanaged by quasi-governmental social welfare corporations, 18.9% bysocial welfare councils, 10.4% by social welfare corporations and disability
sports associations, and 8.5% by welfare associations for people withphysical disabilities.
About half of the sports centers for people with disabilities werebuilt in the 1980s, and only a few centers have been constructed since then.
Based on the background purposes for their establishment, sports centers
for people with disabilities can be divided into the following seven types(Figure 4-2). 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

Sports Facilities 83
Persons, aimed at supporting social participation of persons with physicaldisabilities.
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 ofworkers 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 withthe world, volunteer training, and other services that will help people withphysical disabilities participate in society.

Welfare centers for people withphysical disabilities (Type A)

39

Gymnasiums for Workers with
Physical Disabilities

30

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

30

Welfare centers for people withphysical disabilities (Type B)

20

Rehabilitation centers

5

Recovery centers for people with disabilities

2

Others

22
0

10

20

30

40

50
（facilities）

Note: Since some facilities correspond to several types, the total does not add up to 139.
SSF Research on Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities (2016)

Figure 4-2 ‌Number of Sports Facilities with Exclusive or Priority
Access for People with Disability by Categories

84 Sports Facilities
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 inrecreation at.
7. Others
Facilities that have been established by prefectures or ordinancedesignated cities for purposes other than those listed above (1 to 6).
Usage of sports facilities with exclusive or priority access fordisabled people
The method each sports 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% count for
the number of users of each section of the facility. All of the facilities that
had over 10,000 total visitors (including people with disabilities) in 2014
are located in major cities and are ranked as follows, from most visitors
to least (Table 4-6): 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 MAISHIMASports Center for Persons with Disabilities; Tokyo Metropolitan TamaSports Center for the Disabled; Saitama Social Activities Center for the
Disabled; Osaka Prefectural Community Center for People with Disabilities(Fine Plaza Osaka); and Kyoto Disabled Sports Center.
Sports 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 sports facilities with exclusive or
priority access for disabled people are anticipated to help handle new influxof disabled people to public sports facilities.

Sports Facilities 85
Table 4-6 ‌Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for
Disabled People with more than 100,000 users (2012 2014)
Name of facilities

2012

2013

2014

Osaka City NAGAI Sports Center for Persons
with Disabilities

241,504

248,294

253,860

Yokohama Rapport Sports & Cultural Center
for Disabled

228,893

222,254

227,078

Tokyo Metropolitan Sports Center for the
Disabled

152,522

154,586

157,977

Osaka City MAISHIMA Sports Center for
Persons with Disabilities

151,754

151,353

156,434

Tokyo Metropolitan Tama Sports Center for
the Disabled

127,592

129,957

128,634

Saitama Social Activities Center for the
Disabled

126,278

129,039

122,039

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

120,870

117,954

121,575

Kyoto Disabled Sports Center

99,179101,582

101,325

SSF Research on Sports Facilities for People with Disabilities (2016)

86 Human Resources for Sports

Chapter 5
Human Resources for Sports
I. Professions in Sports
1. Human Resources in Local Sports Administration
Sports 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 ofsports administration to their own jurisdiction. According to the “SSF All
Municipalities Survey on Sports Promotion” (2016), as of 2015 the sports
administration department was located within the governor’s office for44.7% of the 47 prefectures and within the mayor’s office for 15.2% of
the 1,188 municipalities that responded to that survey. In the 2010 survey,
these numbers were 17.0% for the 47 prefectures and 8.3% for the 1,236
municipalities. Sports 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 24.8 people on average were employed fulltime in the sports administration departments in prefectures, with 6.5 people
assigned to “lifelong sports”, 7.3 people to “high performance sports”, and 1.9
to “para-sports” (Figure 6-1). The average for the 1,188 municipalities was
4.6 people, of which 3.4 people were assigned to “lifelong sports”, 2.8 people
to “high performance sports”, and 1.6 to “para-sports”. That makeup differsfrom prefectures as the number of people for “lifelong sports” exceeds that for“high performance sports”. Although the total number of employees expands
as the population size of a municipality increases, “lifelong sports” always has
most employees, followed by “high performance sports” then “para-sports”.
For municipalities with small populations, it is possible that a small number of
employees are working in multiple areas simultaneously.
In addition to staff members who are in charge of sports
administration in local governments, employees in affiliated organizations(such as Sports Promotion Foundations and Sports Associations) of otherprefectures or municipalities engage in a variety of sports promotion
activities within the local government.

1.4

1.8

1.7

1.7

1.4

2.8

3.4

2.8

3.3

4.9

4.5

4.1

5.1

4.6

4.1

3.9

3.4
3.0

2.6
2.2
2.0

1.7
1.7
1.5
1.2

1.6

1.9

6.0

6.7

6.5

6.5
7.3

10.0

10

11.1

20

22.5

30

SSF Survey on Sports Policies in Municipalties (2016)

Para-sports

High Perfomance Sports

Lifelong Sports

Full-time Sports Administrator

24.8

Figure5-1 Average number of employees in the sports administration departments of prefectures andmunicipalities (total and per area)

Note1：The average number of employees working in each area was calculated by using the number of times each question was responded to as a parameter.
Note2：Since some employees work in multiple areas, the totals for the breakdown by area and the total number of employees may not match.

More than 500,000

200,000 - 499,999

100,000 - 199,999

50,000 - 99,999

30,000 - 49,999

10,000 - 29,999

Under 10,000

By population size in
Municipalties

Municipalities

Prefectures0

Human Resources for Sports 87

88 Human Resources for Sports
2. Human Resources in Sports Organizations
There are various sports organizations across Japan. With a few
exceptions, the national governing bodies of sports (NGBs) serve as themain administering body of each sport, and have a number of affiliatedorganizations including prefectural associations. In order to understandthe current number of staff members in NGBs who are engaged in the
promotion of each sport, the results of the “SSF Census of the National
Governing Bodies of Sports” (2017) were examined. The subjects of thesurvey were 87 sports organizations that were affiliated organizations ofeither Japan Sports Association (JASA), Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC)or Japan World Games Association (JWGA).
Staff members in National Governing Bodies of Sports (NGBs)
NGBs were asked for the number of staff members in each of thefollowing positions: directors (full-time and part-time), auditors, councilors,
regular employees, contract/commissioned workers, seconded employee(from sponsor companies, etc.), temporary workers, part-time workers,
interns and others. The total number of staff members in the 61 organizations
that responded to the survey was 3,536 people. Of this number, 1,286 weredirectors (including auditors), 1,397 were councilors and 853 were operating
staff members (Table 5-1).
Table 5-1 ‌Number of Staff members in National Governing
Bodeis of Sports
Type

Men

Women

Total

Director (full- time)

73

14

87

Director (part-time)

944

118

1,062

Auditor

127

10

137

Councilor

1,288

109

1,397

Full-time employee

335

198

533

Contract/commissioned worker

70

69

139

Seconded employee

39

6

45

Temporary worker

8

51

59

Part-time worker

25

43

68

Intern1

12Others

4

3

7

2,914

622

3,536

Total

Note：The results show the total number of workers are in 61 afﬁliated organizations of JASA, JOC or JWGA that responded tothe survey.
SSF Census of the National Governing Bodies of Sports (2016)

Human Resources for Sports 89
The average number of operating staff members (excluding directors
and councilors) was 14.0 persons per organization. However, this number
varied depending on the organization. For example, some organizations had
no operating staff members, while another had 185. With regard to thoseorganizations that had no operating staff members (4 organizations), it isassumed that the directors worked in various positions.
By gender, the proportion of men working as operating staff members
was higher, accounting for 56.5% of the total while women made up theremaining 43.5%. Looking at the employment status of those operating staff,
excluding directors and councilors, 62.5% were regular employees, 31.9%
were non-regular employees (such as contract/commissioned workers,
temporary workers and part-time workers) and 5.3% were temporarily
seconded employees from other companies including sponsors and suppliers.
The average number of directors was 21.1 persons per organization,and 6.8% of these were full-time directors. By gender, male directors
accounted for 89.0% of the total and female directors accounted for
11.0%, showing that female directors remained around 10%. Among the
respondents, 10 organizations (16.4%) did not have any female directors
present, and those that had two or fewer female directors accounted for
62.3% of the total respondents.
3. Human Resources in Sports Industries
In order to understand the number of employees in Japan’s sports
industries, the “Japan Standardized Industrial Classification” of the Ministryof Internal 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 which were
not involved in any businesses other than those sports-related. The industry
that had the highest number of employees was “golf courses” (with 126,429
people), followed by “sporting goods retailers” (85,599 people), “fitness
clubs” (81,569 people) and “sports and health classes” (73,450 people) (Table
5-2). When all of the workers in these 14 industries were combined, the total
number was 523,641 people. However, this is in fact accounting for only
0.85% of the total number of employees in all Japanese industries (61.78
million people in total) in 2014.
Compared to the results obtained in 2009, the number of sportsrelated employees in 2014 had decreased by 13,062 people but it showedsome increase in 6 sports industries. This increase was particularly high in“gymnasiums” and “bowling alleys”.

90 Human Resources for Sports
4. University Students and Faculty Members in Physical Education
The number of university students and faculty members in physicaleducation and sports departments were examined based on the findings fromthe “Schools Basic Survey (for higher education institutions)” (2013 and2015) conducted by MEXT. The total number of students in departmentsthat were exclusively devoted to physical education and sports -“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.
However, new sports departments have been established every year since2009, and the total number of those students studying sports has steadily
increased to 41,106 in 2013 and 42,187 in 2015 (Table 5-3).
Table 5-2 Number of Employees in Sports Industries
Industries

Number of Workers

Increased/Decreased
Number (%)

2009

2014

Sporting and athletic goods manufacturing

19,663

17,440－ 2,223 （－ 12.7）

Sporting goods retailers

94,01385,599－ 8,414 （－ 9.8）

Sports and hobby goods rental outlets

3,149

3,940

Facilities for public gambling sports(horese race, bicycle race, motorboat tace andmotorcycle race)

32,572

24,761Gymnasiums

10,21014,336

Golf courses

147,431

126,429－ 21,002 （－ 16.6）

Golf ranges

31,32428,258－ 3,066 （－ 10.9）

Bowling alleys

12,592

19,0096,417

Tennis clubs

3,097

2,491

－ 606 （－ 24.3）

Batting tennis centers

3,816

2,822

－ 994 （－ 35.2）

Fitness centers

73,981

81,569

7,588

（9.3）

Sports facilities (other than those above)

35,94843,5377,589（17.4）

68,90773,450

4,543

（6.2）

791

（20.1）－ 7,811 （－ 31.5）

Sports facilities

Sports and health classes

4,126（28.8）（33.8）

Economic Census (MIC, 2009 and 2014)

Human Resources for Sports 91
The number of students in other departments (such as Departmentof Education or Department of Human Sciences) who might have studied
physical education or sports were not included in this survey. Thus,
the actual total number of students may be greater than those obtained.
Additionally, the number of faculty members in physical education andsports departments has increased from 1,328 in 2013 to 1,389 in 2015.

7
3
1
2
1
1

Faculty of Sports and Health Studies

Department of Sports Science

School of Health and Sports Science

Department of Sports

School of Lifelong Sports

Department of Sports and Human
31

1

Faculty of Culture and Sports Policies Policy

Total

1

12

2

Universities

School of Health and Physical Education

School of Physical Education

Faculty of Sports and Health Science

Department Name

41,106

384

778

2,380

558

4,777

5,339

1,146

1,039

23,0511,654

Students

2013

1,328

21

29

81

17

167

173

39

―

747

54

FacultyMembers

1,190

1,047

22,356

7,898

Students

34

―

744

276

FacultyMembers

32

1

1

2

1

3

1,389

22

42

81

20

170

Schools Basic Surveys (MEXT, 2013 and 2015)

42,187

372

859

2,443

750

5,272

Included to Faculty of Sports and Health Science

1

1

12

10

Universities

2015

Table 5-3 Number of University Students and Faculty Members in Physical Education and Sports Departments

92 Human Resources for Sports

Human Resources for Sports 93

II. Sports Instructors
1. Sports Instructor Qualification Scheme
Japan’s Sports 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
sports 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 Sports Association (JASA)
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 isrequired to be in accordance with the Act. This came to be recognized 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 JASA, NGBs and National
Recreation Association of Japan (NRAJ)) became the government-authorized
qualification providers. However, in 2002 the Cabinet office approved the“Implementation Plan for the Reform of Modalities in the Administration of
Public Service Corporations” and abolished the Minister’s responsibility toensure the legality of examinations conducted by public service corporations
at the end of 2005.
After this abolition, the JASA reshaped their qualification scheme,
and has been operating their officially authorized “Sports Instructor
Qualification Scheme” ever since. In response to Article 11 (Training ofInstructors) 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 instructorsthat can contribute to the success of high performance sports; and enriching
the career paths of top-level athletes and sports instructors.

94 Human Resources for Sports
2. JASA Sports Instructor Qualification Scheme
Table 5-4 shows the five categories and 16 different types ofqualifications that are offered by JASA. With the cooperation of NGBs,JASA provides “Qualifications of Instructors for per Competition” which
are intended to train instructors of each sport, and are composed of six typesof qualifications according to their age and level of skills. To date, JASA has
trained instructors in over 50 different types of sports.
The “Fitness Regime Qualifications” include: “JASA Sports
Programmer” which is a qualification to offer guidance for the maintenance
Table 5-4 Number‌of Registered JASA Certified Sports Instructors
Category
Basic Qualiﬁcations of Sports
Instructors

Qualiﬁcations of Instructors foreach Competitions

Fitness Regime Qualiﬁcations

Medical Conditioning
Qualiﬁcations

Title

Number of Registered
Instructors
2013

2016

JASA Sports Basic Leader

247,824

324,712JASA Coach I

104,309108,381

JASA Coach II

14,784

12,764JASA Coach III

14,98817,481JASA Coach IV

5,092

5,492

JASA Instructor I

3,830

3,290

JASA Instructor II

1,549

1,325

JASA Sports Programmer

4,759

3,647

JASA Fitness Trainer

684

472

JASA Junior Instructor

5,436

4,544

JASA Athletic Trainer

2,078

3,027

JASA Sports Doctor

5,512

5,806

JASA Sports Dentist
JASA Sports Dietician

－

136
127

212

5,096

5,551

JASA Club Manager

326

397

Sports Trainer I

55

32

Sports Trainer II

128

76

Total (excluding sports leaders)

168,753

172,633

Total (including sports leaders)

416,577

497,345JASA Assistant Club Manager

Sports Management
Qualiﬁcations

Former Qualiﬁcations

As of October 1, 2016
Note：JASA Sports Dentist was officially recognised from April 2015.

JASA (2013 and 2016)

Human Resources for Sports 95
and improvement of fitness to adults; “JASA Fitness Trainer” which isfor professional fitness instructors to provide various basic fitness training
at private sports facilities; and “JASA Junior Instructor” which is aqualification to teach children about physical fitness and motion facilitation
through play at local sports clubs.
The “Medical Conditioning Qualifications” include the following
four qualifications: “JASA Athletic Trainer” which is a qualification toprovide instruction in sports injury prevention and rehabilitation; “JASASports Doctor” to undertake the health care, injury prevention, diagnosis
and treatment of athletes; “JASA Sports Dietician” to provide nutritional
guidance to athletes and enhance their athletic performance; and “JASA
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 sports
clubs. The “JASA Assistant Club Manager” is designed to develop staff
members who possess the basic knowledge necessary for the managementof comprehensive sports clubs, and qualified individuals who are expected
to support activities related to club management. The “JASA Club Manager”
is targeting the individuals to improve their management skills including
securing and enhancing the effective use of financial resources to ensure thesound management of sports clubs.
In addition to JASA Sports Doctor qualification mentioned previously,
other sports-related qualifications are offered to physicians by Japan Medical
Association Certificate of Accreditation for Sports Health Physicians andJapanese Orthopedic Association Certificate for Sports Physicians.
Number of Registered Instructors
As of October 2016, there were 497,345 qualified instructors
registered with JASA (Table 5-4). The number of those registerd as “JASASports 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 2016 increased by about 4,000
people, when compared to that number in 2016.
By sports, the number of registered instructors was highest for“football” (35,547), followed by “swimming” (17,343), “volleyball” (15,759)
and “softball” (12,697) (Table 5-5).

96 Human Resources for Sports
3. Disability Sports 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 sports activities. The “Beginner’s Para-Sports
Instructor” is to help people with disabilities within the community tointegrate sports into their daily lives; “Intermediate Para-Sports Instructor”
can provide sports instruction to people with disabilities at a prefecturallevel; “Advanced Para-Sports Instructor” provides advanced sports
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
sports. 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 5-6).
Table 5-5 ‌Number of Registered JASA Certified Sports Instructors
per Sport
Number of Registered Instructors

Sport

2013

2016

32,38635,547

Swimming

19,72917,343

Volleyball14,66615,759Softball13,44912,691

Basketball

6,350

8,767

Tennis

5,429

4,723

Kyudo (Japanese Archery)

4,214

4,687

Karate

4,084

4,633

Ski

4,850

4,099

Table tennis

3,466

3,161

～

Football

Total
As of October 1, 2016

144,552

148,733
JASA (2013 and 2016)

Human Resources for Sports 97
Table 5-6 JPSA Certified Sports Instructor Qualifications
Category

Number of Registered Instructors
2013

2016

Beginner's Para-Sports Instructor

17,965

19,278Intermediate Para-Sports Instructor

2,502

3,117

Advanced Para-Sports Instructor

686

758

Sports Coach

125

152

Para-Sports Physician

234

395

Para-Sports Trainer

75

132

As of December 31, 2016
Note: Sports coaches include those certiﬁed as Advanced and Intermediate Para-Sports Instructors.

JPSA (2013 and 2016)

98 Sports Clubs

Chapter 6
Sports Clubs
I. Sports Club Memberships for Adults
1. Membership Trends and Types of Sports Clubs
Membership Trends
According to “The 2016 SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, thepercentage of adults who were enrolled in a sports club, team or group(hereinafter collectively referred to as a “sports club”) was only 17.9%(Figure 6-1). The MEXT’s “Public Opinion Poll on Physical Fitness andSports” (2013) showed a similar result that only 16.2% of adults wereenrolled in sports clubs.
With regard to gender, the proportion of men who were enrolled ina sports club was 19.6%, which was 3.4 percentage points higher than thatof women (16.2%). Conversely, in terms of those who were not enrolled inany sports clubs, the proportion of women was 6.2 percentage points higher(63.1%) than that of men (56.9%).

All Adults

17.9

Men

19.6

Women

16.2

56.9

23.5

63.1

20.7

57.5

21.6

20.9

20-29

60.0

22.1

30-39

15.4

23.8

60.7

40-49

15.6

23.7

60.7

50-59

16.9

26.6

60-69

19.6

19.0

61.4

70 and older

20.1

17.3

62.6

0

20
Currently member

56.5

40

60

80

Formerly member

Never joined

100
(%)

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

Figure 6-1 Membership of Sports Clubs

Sports Clubs 99
By age groups, the 20s age group showed the highest membershiprate of 20.9%, followed by the over-70s age group with 20.1% and the 60s
age group with 19.6%, indicating that one in every five individuals are
currently enrolled in a sports club. In terms of those who were not enrolled
in any sports clubs, non-membership rates among the four age groups otherthan the 20s and 50s reached over 60%.
Figure 6-2 shows the trends in the rate of sports club membershipbased on the findings of “The SSF National Sports-Life Survey” over the
past 16 years. The proportion of adults who were enrolled in a sports clubremained at around 20% from 2002 to 2016. Although it showed slightincrease since 2010, it dropped by 2.1 percentage points from the previous
survey in 2016 (17.9%).
Membership Status by Types of Sports Clubs
Figure 6-3 shows the types of sports clubs that people participate in.
The most popular clubs were “community sports clubs (mostly managed by
local residents)” at 33.2%, followed by “Friends and acquaintances’ clubs”,“private sports clubs / fitness clubs”, “workplace clubs” and “alumni clubs”.
By gender, the proportion of women who were members of“community sports clubs” was 8.2 percentage points higher (37.7%) thanmen (29.5%). The same trend was observed in “private sports clubs”, with

(%)
30

Men

Women

All Adults

25.6

25
22.0

22.1

19.0

20

23.2

22.7
21.2
19.2

10

2000

18.8

18.4

18.5

15

20.6

21.6

18.0
16.1

15.9

15.9

2002

2004

2006

16.1

2008

2010

22.3

22.3

19.7

20.0

19.6
17.9

17.1

2012

17.7
16.2

2014

2016（Year）

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

Figure 6-2 Trends in the Rate of Sports Club Memberships

100 Sports Clubs
women (33.5%) leading men (17.5%) by 16.0 percentage points. By age
groups, the proportion of “Friends and acquaintances’ clubs” were 34.1%
at the 20s age group, 39.0% at the 30s age group and 37.1% at the 40s
age group, indicating that more than one-third of adults were enrolled.
The proportion of “community sports clubs” increased as the age groupincreased, and exceeded 50% in the over-70 age group, clearly showing that
community sports clubs played an important role for seniors to participate insports.
Among respondents who were not currently enrolled in any sports
clubs, the proportion of those who would like to become a sports clubmember was 19.4%. This figure has not been changed since the rate (19.6%)
reported in the previous survey (2014). By gender, the proportion wanting toenroll in a sports club was higher in women, and by age the 20s and 40s age
groups were the highest.
2. Sports and Physical Activities in Sports Clubs
According to the “The 2014 SSF National Sports-Life Survey”,
sports and physical activities performed in sports clubs include “calisthenics(including radio exercises, workplace exercises, aerobics and jumpingrope)”, which were the most popular type of activity at 6.0%, followed by“golf on a course” at 5.0%, “baseball” at 4.3%, “weight training” at 3.6%
and “yoga” at 3.3%.
By gender, “golf on a course” ranked as the most played sports formen at 8.9%, followed by “baseball” at 8.3%, “softball” and “football” bothat 4.6%, and “futsal, (five a side football)” at 3.9%. Meanwhile, womenranked “calisthenics (including light exercise and radio exercises)” as
the most enjoyed activity at 8.6%, followed by “yoga” at 6.3%, “weighttraining” at 4.2%, “volleyball” at 2.9% and “walking” at 2.7%.

70 and
older

60-69

50-59

40-49

30-39

20-29

Women

Men

All Adults

0

18.2

14.6

31.3

29.2

29.5

20

37.7

33.2

60

24.1

29.4

1.3
3.8

FIgure 6-3 Types of Sports Clubs

Friends and aquantances' clubs

11.2

Private sports clubs and finess clubs

32.5

1.1

23.4

6.1

33.5

12.6

7.4

Local community clubs

40

19.1

8.5

3.2

2.3

Workplace clubs

51.7

47.7

16.9

25.6

17.5

24.8

34.1

1.3

Other

20.7

17.4

11.0

1.1

1.8

100 (%)

2.5

2.2

2.6

2.5

4.2

3.4

SSF National Sports-Life Survey (2016)

23.8

28.8
1.8

80

1.1

37.1

Alumni clubs

1.1

33.0

39.0

1.8

1.3

28.8

Sports Clubs 101

102 Sports Clubs

II. ‌‌‌‌P articipation in Sports Clubs and School
Sports Clubs by Children and Young People
1. Sports Club Membership for Children Aged 4-9 Years
In “The SSF National Sports-Life Survey for Children (2015),
respondents were asked about their enrollment in school sports clubs, privatesports clubs (such as swimming and gymnastics clubs), and community
sports clubs (youth sports associations, sports classes, etc.).
The enrollment rate for children between the ages of 4 and 9 was
52.7%, as indicated in Figure 6-4. Regarding gender, 58.2% of boys wereenrolled compared to 46.9% of girls, a difference of 11.3 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 － 32.8% for preschoolers, 55.3% forfirst- and second-graders, and 63.6% for third- and fourth-graders. Over halfof elementary school students were enrolled in sports clubs.
By type of sports club, “private sports clubs (such as swimming andgymnastics clubs)” showed highest proportion with 71.9%, followed bycommunity sports clubs (junior sports clubs, sports classes, etc.) with 29.6%
and school sports clubs with 17.0%. The data suggests that private sports
clubs are an important activity location for children in this age group.
2. Sports Club Membership for Young People Aged 10-19 Years
According to “The 2015 SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young
People”, 57.3% of young people aged 10-19 years were members of sports
clubs (in school sports clubs, community sports clubs such as junior sports
clubs, and private sports clubs such as swimming and gymnastics clubs)
in 2015 (Figure 6-5). When calculated with the total population of young
people in Japan (11,847,792 people, according to the basic resident register
as of January 1, 2015), the number of young people who were sports clubmembers were around 679 million people.
By gender, boys accounted for 66.9% of sports club members,
while girls accounted for 47.4%. By school year, the highest membershiprate (72.0%) was found in elementary school years. The membership ratecontinued to be around 70% in elementary and junior high school years,
but decreased to around 50% in high school years, and then 30% in college
years. It can be concluded that high school years are a turning point foryoung people in terms of joining sports clubs. Moreover, the membershiprate in young workers (aged 15-19 years) was significantly low, at 16.9%.
By type of sports clubs, “sports clubs at schools” ranked the highest

Third- andFourth-Grades

First- andSecond-Grades

Preschoolers

Girls

Boys

All

0

20

55.3

63.6

40

60

67.2

Formerly member

53.1

36.4

100 (%)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015)

80

44.7

41.8

47.3

FIgure 6-4 Enrollment in Sports Clubs among Children Aged 4-9 years (2015)

32.8

46.9

58.2

52.7

Currently member

Sports Clubs 103

WorkerCollegeHigh

Junior highElementary

Girls

Boys

All

0

20

74.5

72.0

66.9

40

60

83.1

65.2

80

42.7

25.5

28.0

33.1

100 (%)
SSF National Sports-Life Survey of Young People (2015)

48.8

52.6

Formerly member

FIgure 6-5 Membership in Sports Clubs of Young People Aged 10-19 (2015)

16.9

34.8

51.2

47.4

57.3

Currently member

104 Sports Clubs

Sports Clubs 105
at 78.1%, followed by “community sports clubs (junior sports clubs, local
sports classes, dojo, etc.)” at 18.5% and “private sports clubs (swimmingclubs, gymnastic clubs, etc.)” at 18.0% (Figure 6-6).
3. School Sports Clubs in Junior High School
When focused on the changes in the total number of junior highschool students and their membership rate in school sports clubs, the total
number of students has decreased slightly in the past five years. However, themembership rate in school sports clubs has remained at around 65 to 67%.
By gender, the proportion of boys involved in school sports clubs has
hovered at around 77%, while for girls it has remained at around 55%.
When the number of students registered in 2016 were examinedby sports, “football” had the largest number with 227,735 students (aregistration rate of 17.3%), followed by “rubber baseball” with 185,314
students (14.1%), “basketball” with 175,987 students (13.4%), “soft tennis”
with 171,397 students (13.0%) and “table tennis” with 148,160 students(11.3%) (Table 6-1). In 2011, rubber baseball was the sport that had thelargest number of students registered (19.6%). However, this number
decreased to 14.1% in 2016 (a decrease of 5.5 percentage points over five
years). On the other hand, “football” has shown an increasing popularity inthe last five years. For girls, “soft tennis” was the sport that had the largest
number registered with 186,931 students (a registration rate of 20.4%),
followed by “volleyball” with 158,073 students (17.2%), “basketball” with
135,500 students (14.8%), “table tennis” and “track and field”.

Sports clubs

78.1

at schools

Community sports clubs(junior sports clubs,

18.5

local sports classes, dojo, etc.)

Private sports clubs(swimming clubs,

18.0

gymnastic clubs, etc.)
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80 (%)

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

Figure 6-6 ‌Types of Sports Clubs for Young People Aged 10-19
years (Multiple Answers)

106 Sports Clubs
Table 6-1 ‌Number of Students Registered in Junior High School
Sports Clubs (Top 10)
Boys

Rank

Sports2016
Number of
students

2011(%)

Number of
students(%)

1

Football227,735

17.3

237,783

16.6

2

Rubber Baseball185,31414.1

280,917

19.6

3

Basketball175,987

13.4

178,468

12.5

4Soft Tennis

171,39713.0

166,815

11.7

5

Table Tennis

148,160

11.3

142,990

10.0

6Track and Field

126,1119.6

127,2488.9

7Volleyball56,782

4.3

50,299

3.5

8

Kendo

54,177

4.1

61,113

4.3

9

Badminton

46,671

3.6

35,9692.5

10Swimming

31,923

2.4

30,276

2.1

Number of
students(%)

Number of
students

(%)

Girls

Rank

Sports

2016

2011

1

Soft Tennis

186,93120.4

196,12920.0

2Volleyball158,07317.2

161,691

16.5

3

Basketball135,500

14.8

146,601

15.0

Table Tennis

95,21910.4

90,5789.3

Track and Field

95,062

10.4

91,1689.3

6Badminton

87,1009.5

88,971

9.1

7Softball41,847

4.6

53,821

5.5

8

Kendo

34,692

3.8

36,974

3.8

9

Swimming

16,782

1.8

17,438

1.8

10Handball

11,336

1.2

11,4081.2

4

Note：The Ranking are the results from 2016 survey.

Nippon Junior High School Physical Culture Association (2011, 2016)

Sports Clubs 107
4. School Sports 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 sports clubs were analyzed. The results show that the total
number of students has decreased by about 6.7% in the last ten years. On theother hand, the enrollment rate in school sports clubs has increased by 4.1
percentage points, from 40.1% in 2006 to 44.2% in 2016.
Table 6-2 shows the number of students registered with JHAF in2011 and 2016 by sports. In 2016, “football” had the largest number with
169,855 registered students (accounting for 20.9% of the total). This wasfollowed by sports such as “basketball” with 95,681 students (11.8%), “trackand field” with 70,276 students (8.6%), “tennis” and “badminton”. For girls,“basketball” had the largest number with 61,175 registered students (13.5%),
followed by “volleyball” with 60,941 students (13.5%), “badminton” with
56,369 students (12.5%), “track and field” and “tennis.”108 Sports Clubs
Table 6-2 ‌Number of Students Registered in High School Sports
Clubs (Top 10)
Boys

Rank

Sports2016
Number of
students

2011(%)

Number of
students(%)

1

Football169,855

20.9

150,655

19.8

2

Basketball95,681

11.8

89,51011.8

3Track and Field

70,276

8.6

65,646

8.6

4

Tennis

68,752

8.5

64,076

8.4

5

Badminton

57,8307.1

49,533

6.5

6

Table Tennis

50,1476.2

50,907

6.7

7Soft Tennis

48,6696.0

46,2996.1

8Volleyball45,211

5.6

35,721

4.7

9

Kyudo (Japanese archery)

34,254

4.2

33,610

4.4

10

Kendo

29,273

3.6

29,052

3.8

Number of
students(%)

Number of
students

(%)

Girls

Rank

Sports

2016

2011

1

Basketball61,17513.5

62,22514.3

2Volleyball60,941

13.5

59,151

13.6

3

Badminton

56,36912.5

53,497

12.3

4

Track and Field

39,6138.8

36,403

8.4

5Tennis38,5888.5

35,736

8.2

6Soft Tennis

36,0628.0

35,532

8.2

7

Kyudo (Japanese archery)

32,6587.2

31,254

7.2

8Softball

22,0474.9

24,853

5.7

9

Table Tennis

20,872

4.6

18,609

4.3

10

Kendo

16,428

3.6

14,664

3.4

Note：The Ranking are the results from 2016 survey.

All Japan High School Athletic Federation (2011, 2016)

Sports Clubs 109

III. Private Fitness Clubs
1. Trends in Private Fitness Clubs
Market Size
As of the end of December 2015, the market size (in sales) of private
fitness clubs was 438.1 billion yen (a 1.5% increase from the previousyear) (Table 6-3). Until 2009, the market for private fitness clubs remained
low as if synchronized with the slow economy. The market slowly began
to rise after 2010, with the efforts in the launch of a re-marketing strategy(that involved the opening of swimming schools in existing fitness clubs,
for example) and the rise of private fitness clubs in lower-revenue andsmaller-market franchises. Despite these efforts, the market was unable tomaintain its upward movement immediately following the Great East Japan
Earthquake on March 11, 2011. However, the impact didn’t last long, andstarting in July 2011 more fitness clubs began to recover from the recession.
The market has continued to make turnarounds since 2012.
Number of Fitness Clubs
The number of newly opened private fitness clubs has remained ataround 200 sites every year since 2011 and reached 300 sites for the firsttime in 2015. These clubs were significantly dominated by the small-scale
gyms. In 2011, 159 small-scale gyms were opened, followed by 21 studio/
single item facilities and 12 general fitness clubs. In 2015, 130 small-scale
gyms were opened, 161 studio/single item facilities and 9 general fitness
clubs. The reasons behind this trend could be that consumers have lost theirinterest in comprehensive fitness facilities, which are now viewed as oldfashioned. Instead, they have become more interested in finding facilities
that focus specifically on the activities they are looking for.
The number of facilities closing down has also leveled out, at around
Table 6-3 Market Trend of Private Fitness Club Industry
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Sales (in millions of yen)

4,095

4,124

4,240

4,316

4,381

Growth rate ＊ (%)

▲ 1.1

0.7

2.8

1.8

1.5

＊ Changes in sales compared to the previous year. The growth rate in 2011 is based on the sales reached in 2010 (414 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 fromswimming 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 (2016)

110 Sports Clubs
10 sites per year. As of the end of December 2015, the total number offitness clubs operating throughout Japan was 4,661 (6.5% increase fromthe previous year) (Table 6-4). By location, Tokyo had the highest numberof new fitness clubs (93 facilities), followed by Osaka (38 facilities) and
Kanagawa (22 facilities). As these results show, more facilities are operated
in areas such as Tokyo Metropolitan area and Kinki region, where the levels
of income and the population densities are high.
Membership
The number of private fitness club members has increased in the last
five years, it reached the highest ever 4.21 million in 2015 which accounts
for 3.32% of the total population of Japan. (Table 6-5). 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.
On the other hand, the annual frequency of use per year becomes achallenge for fitness clubs as it has been stagnated for a while. The frequent
usage per year had remained at over 76 times per year in 2012 and 2013, it
started decreasing in 2014 and recorded 73.2 times per year in 2015. The
rate of membership withdrawal has been decreasing every year.
Table 6-4 Number of Private Fitness Clubs Facilities
2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Number of facilities

3,745

3,945

4,163

4,375

4,661

Growth rate ＊ (%)

4.8

5.3

5.5

5.1

6.5

＊ Changes in facilities compared to the previous year. The growth rate in 2011 is based on the number of facilities in 2010.
Fitness Business (2016)

Table 6-5 ‌Membership and Total Number of Use of Private
Fitness Clubs (2016)2011
Membership

2012

2013

2014

2015

3,927,229 4,025,410 4,155,791 4,193,706 4,214,675

Membership penetration rate (%)

3.07

3.16

3.26

3.30

3.32

Total number of users(in ten thousand)

27,72630,63331,87530,95130,859Number of users per facilities

74,03577,43476,56770,74566,207Frequency of use per year

70.6

76.1

76.7

73.8

73.2

Fitness Business (2016)

Sports Clubs 111
Profitability
Although the profitability of most private fitness clubs dropped
to its lowest level in 2010, the market has been in a slow recovery since2011. Private fitness clubs have implemented strategies to improve theirprofitability, such as expanding swimming pools or dance classes, andreviewing their business expenses including rent, labor costs, advertisement
and sales promotions. Other than these immediate efforts, they have nottaken any dynamic measures to improve profitability that involved structuralchanges. Despite this, the presence of emerging venture capital companies
with a clear business model (such as “Curves” and “Rizap”) has become
more prominent.

112 Sports Clubs

IV. Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs
1. ‌Establishment and Development of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs
A comprehensive community sports club (hereinafter referred toas a “Comprehensive Club”) is a sports 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 sports 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.
According to the Japan Sports Agency’s “Survey on the Developmentof Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs” (2016), the number ofcomprehensive clubs has increased by six times over the 10 years since thebeginning of the survey in 2002 (Figure 6-7). The increase observed in 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, the increase 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 theprevious year. The total number of comprehensive clubs was 3,582, of which
3,385 clubs were already operational (including 72 clubs now currently
inactive) and 197 clubs were in the process 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 across thecountry now has established comprehensive clubs and it could be said thatthey 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 ofclub managers and staff members, can be assessed by “Survey on
Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs”, which has been conducted by
MEXT since 2003 and transferred to JSA in 2015.

2002

236

305

541

13.1

2003

424

409

833

17.4

2004

635

482

1,117

22.5

2005

1,412

743

2,155

Development Rates

Established

33.0

2006

1,758

658

2,416

42.6

Under preparation for establishment

2007

2,004

551

2,555

48.9

2008

2,233

535

2,768
57.8

2009

2,425

480

2,905
64.9

2010

2,664

450

3,114
71.4

2011

2,851

390

3,241
75.4

2012

3,048

348

3,396
78.2

2013

3,237

256

3,493
79.0

2014

3,259

253

3,512
80.1

80.8

2016

3,385

197

3,582

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

(Year)

80.8

MEXT (2002 – 2014)
Japan Sports Agency (2015 – 2016)

2015

3,328

222

3,550

(%)
90

Figure 6-7 ‌Changes in the Number of Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs and the Development Rate
(Nationwide)

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

(Number of Clubs)
4,000Sports Clubs 113

114 Sports Clubs
Number of Members
Looking at the number of the comprehensive club members
and the changes observed over the years, the most prevalent size for acomprehensive club was 101 to 300 members, accounting for almost 40%of the total since 2005. Those with 300 or fewer members have shown alevelling off trend. Clubs with over 1,000 members accounted for less than
10% of the total.
Membership Fees
Over 90% of the comprehensive clubs collect membership fees. The
most prevalent amount of monthly membership fee was 101 to 400 yen,observed in around 40% of clubs and decreased to 35.5% in 2015. When
combined with those clubs collecting a monthly membership fee of 0 to 100
yen, the proportion of comprehensive clubs with membership fees of 400
yen or less accounted for around 60% of the total. The distribution of thesefees has not changed much since 2003, except for those clubs collecting feesof 1,001 yen or more. The survey conducted in 2015 recorded the highest
percentage in over 1,001 yen category with 22.6% since the beginning of thesurvey.
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 (Figure 6-8).
Also, looking at the internal revenue rate (based on the ratio of membershipfees, operating costs and consignment costs compared to revenue) lessthan half of the comprehensive clubs (43.5%) had a 50% or lower internal
revenue rate in 2015, 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 that comprehensive clubs
become more independent in their club management without the government
subsidies or grants.

(%)

0

20

40

60

80

100

2006

24.1

48.8

2008

27.5

48.5

10.9

4.2

9.0

2009

27.8

44.8

11.3

5.5

10.6

1.01 to 4 million yen

2010

29.6

40.0

11.7

6.7

12.1

2011

29.1

38.0

12.4

7.5

13.0

4.01 to 7 million yen

2013

30.7

33.5

12.7

7.3

15.8

2014

31.9

33.7

12.0

6.3

16.1

2015

31.6

34.6

11.2

5.8

17.0

10.01 million yen or more(Year)
Survey on Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs (MEXT, 2006 – 2014 / JSA, 2015)

2012

29.1

32.8

11.6

9.7

16.9

7.01 to 10 million yen

Figure 6-8 Trends of the Budgets of Comprehensive Community Sports Clubs

2007

27.5

47.3

11.1

6.3

12.7

9.1

4.9

8.1

1 million yen or lessSports Clubs 115

Figures
1-1
1-2
2-1
2-2
2-3
2-4
2-5
2-6
2-7

2-8
2-9
2-10
2-11
2-12
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
4-1
4-2

Sports Administration Structure in Japan
Organization Chart of Japan Sports Agency
Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
over the years
Number of Days Adults Participated in Sports or Recreationin the past year
Rate of Sports Participation for Children Aged 4-9 years
Frequency Levels of Participation for Children Aged 4-9
years (By Gender and By School Year)
Rates of Sports Participation for Young People Aged
10-19 years
Rates of Sports Participation for Young People Aged
10-19 years (By Gender and By School Year)
Number of Days Disabled Children and Young People
aged 7-19 Participated in Sports and Recreation in thepast year
Rates of Adults Spectating Live Sports Events
Rate of Adults Attending Live Sports Events(By Gender and Age)
Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Adults(By Gender)
Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Adults(By Age Group)
Rates of Volunteering in Sports among Young People
Aged 10-19 years (By Gender)
Trends in the Sports Budget of MEXT and Japan Sports
AgencySports Promotion Lottery System and Allocation of Sales
Revenue (2016)
Trends in the Sports Related Costs of Local Governments
Distribution of Revenue Size (Budgets) for National
Governing Bodies of Sports
Number of Public and Private Sports Facilities in Japan
Number of Sports Facilities with Exclusive or Priority
Access for People with Disability by Categories

5
7
20
26
31
31
35
36

40
42
43
49
50
52
55
57
65
70
74
83

5-1

6-1
6-2
6-3
6-4
6-5
6-6
6-7
6-8

Average number of employees in the sports administration
departments of prefectures and municipalities(total and per area)
Membership of Sports Clubs
Trends in the Rate of Sports Club Memberships
Types of Sports Clubs
Enrollment in Sports Clubs among Children Aged
4-9 years (2015)
Membership in Sports Clubs of Young People Aged
10-19 (2015)
Types of Sports Clubs for Young People Aged 10-19
years
Changes in the Number of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs and the Development Rate
Trends of the Budgets of Comprehensive Community
Sports Clubs

87
98
99
101
103
104
105
113
115

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
2-17
2-18
2-19
2-20

Levels of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
over the years (By Gender)
Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
over the years (By Age)
Rates of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
over the years (By Types pf Sports)
Participation in Sports and Recreation for the past
year by Disability TypeThe Number of Registered Players and Estimated Participants
Categories of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
for Children Aged 4-9 years
Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-9 years (At least once a year)
Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Children Aged 4-9 years(Those Who "Often Participated in" By Gender)
Levels of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 10-19 years
Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 10-19 years (At Least Once a Year)
Ranking of Participation in Sports and Physical Activities
by Young People Aged 10-19 years (Often Participated in)Sports and Recreation Participation for the past year by
Disability Type
Popular Spectator Sports
Changes in Spectator Numbers for Professional Sports
Rate of Sports Viewing and Sports Participation in Adults(2016)
Rate of Sports Viewing and Sports Participation in
Young People Aged 10-19 (2015)
Popular Sports Viewing on TV for Adults (2016)
Popular Sports Viewing on TV for Young People Aged
10-19 years (2015)
Types of Volunteering in Sports

19
22
23
25
27
28
30
32

33
34
37
39
41
43
45
46
46
47
48
51

2-21
3-1
3-2
3-3
3-4
3-5
4-1
4-2
4-3
4-4
4-5
4-6
5-1
5-2
5-3
5-4
5-5
5-6
6-1
6-2
6-3
6-4
6-5

Types of Volunteering in Sports by Young People Aged
10-19 years
Trends in Sales Proceeds from the Sports Promotion Lottery
and Subsidy Amounts
Trends and Breakdown of Sports Promotion Fund Subsidies
Funding for Sports Projects through Revenues from
Public Gambling
Revenue and Expenditure of Sports Organizations
Estimated Gross Domestic Sports Product (GDSP)
Number of Public Sports Facilities and School Sports
Facilities by Facility Types
Major Subsidy and Grant Programs for Sports Facility
Maintenance
Trends in the Amounts of Subsidies for Public Sports
Facility Maintenance from MEXT
Event-Speciﬁc Afﬁliated National Training Center Facilities
Event-Speciﬁc Afﬁliated National Training Center
Facilities for Paralympics
Sport Facilities with Exclusive or Priority Access for
Disabled People with more than 100,000 users (2012 - 2014)
Number of Staff members in National Governing Bodeis
of Sports
Number of Employees in Sports Industries
Number of University Students and Faculty Members
in Physical Education and Sports Departments
Number of Registered JASA Certiﬁed Sports Instructors
Number of Registered JASA Certiﬁed Sports Instructors
per Sport
JPSA Certiﬁed Sports Instructor Qualiﬁcations
Number of Students Registered in Junior High School
Sports Clubs (Top 10)
Number of Students Registered in High School Sports
Clubs (Top 10)
Market Trend of Private Fitness Club Industry
Number of Private Fitness Clubs Facilities
Membership and Total Number of Use of Private
Fitness Clubs (2016)

53
58
60
61
66
72
75
76
77
80
81
85
88
90
92
94
96
97
106
108
109
110
110

Picture Credits
Cover Photo: © Aﬂo
Page 4: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 12: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 18: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2004
Page 29: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1998
Page 40: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 62: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2002
Page 64: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2004
Page 69: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1998
Page 78: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1996
Page 91: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1996
Page 100: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1995
Page 107: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 2004
Page 111: SSF World Sports Photo Contest 1996

White Paper on Sport in Japan

Cover Photo：aﬂo