Sports - Explore Japan - Kids Web Japan - Web Japan Kids Web Japan A girl practicing karate-do, a martial art that hones both physical and spiritual strength (JKF) Children practicing kendo, Japanese fencing using bamboo swords (Tokyo Metropolitan Government) Many different sports are played in Japan. Traditional martial arts like judo and kendo are popular, as are sports imported from overseas, such as baseball and soccer (football). Many Japanese go to the sea for surfing and scuba diving in the summer, while skiing and snowboarding are popular winter pursuits. Major Sports Baseball is one of the most popular spectator sports in Japan. There are 12 professional baseball teams, six in the Central League and six in the Pacific League. The teams in each league play about 140 games each during the season, at the end of which the two league winners meet in the Japan Series. Amateur baseball is also popular, and many schoolchildren play the game through local Little Leagues or school baseball clubs. The National High-School Baseball Championship, which is held twice a year, is fought out among schools that have survived tough qualifying rounds to represent their prefectures. Since Japan's own professional soccer league, J.

League, was founded in 1993, soccer has won more and more fans in Japan. The 2002 FIFA World Cup was cohosted by Japan and the Republic of Korea, and this has greatly increased the popularity of soccer. In the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, Japan made it to the Round of 16. Many Japanese players have joined overseas teams and play in the top European leagues. Japan also has women's soccer leagues, in which most of the players are amateurs. In 2011, the Japanese women's national team won the FIFA Women's World Cup held in Germany and in the 2012 London Olympics, the team won the silver medal. This has helped raise the profile of women's soccer in Japan and increased the player population. Children practicing judo, which has been an Olympic sport since the 1964 Tokyo Games (Kodokan) Martial Arts Traditional martial arts, such as judo, kendo, karate-do, and aikido, thrive in modern Japan thanks to the devotion of those who practice them.

In judo, which literally means "the gentle way," the key to overcoming an opponent lies in taking advantage of their strength. Now popular all over the world, judo has firmly established itself as an official Olympic event since its first inclusion in the Games in 1964. Following in the footsteps of judo, kendo (Japanese fencing) has also succeeded in attracting a loyal overseas following in recent years. Kendo competitors wear armor-like protective gear and use bamboo swords to attack and defend. Karate-do came to Japan from China through the Ryukyu Kingdom (present-day Okinawa). Karate-do competitors do not wear any kind of protection and fight using only their hands and feet. Sumo Sumo, Japan's national sport, has a history spanning more than 1,000 years. As it used to be held as a way of giving thanks for harvests, sumo still involves many rituals. Rikishi (sumo wrestlers), whose hair is styled like that of ancient warriors, wear only a special silk belt and fight using only their bare hands. Most weigh between 100 and 200 kilograms.

They fight in the 4.5-meter wide dohyo (ring) until one either leaves the ring or touches the ground with any part of his body other than the soles of his feet. While the rules are simple, the techniques are not, and there are more than 80 ways to win. Professional sumo tournaments take place six times a year and last 15 days each. Sumo has attracted attention outside Japan through exhibition tours to various countries and the success of wrestlers from overseas. Olympic Games Amateur sport also thrives in Japan, which always sends strong teams to the Olympic Games. A team of 339 Japanese athletes competed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics, and 94 took part in the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The Olympics have been held in Japan three times: Tokyo hosted the Summer Games in 1964 - the first Olympics ever to be held in Asia - while the Winter Games were hosted by Sapporo in 1972 and by Nagano in 1998. And it has been decided that Japan will host the games for the 4th time, with the 2020 Summer Olympics to be held in Tokyo.

Popular Children's Sports Japanese children play a variety of sports through clubs at school or near where they live. Soccer (football) and baseball are two of the most popular sports among boys, while many girls tend to play sports like tennis and volleyball. Swimming is popular with both boys and girls. Q&A Ranking sports’ popularity: And the silver goes to... | The Economist And the silver goes to... Sep 27th 2011, 11:04 Tweet WHICH sport is the world's favourite? The answer, football, feels so self-evident that it is barely worth a post. But what about the world's second favourite? In 2005 England was in the thrall of a glorious cricketing summer. That year's Ashes series, a biennial battle in which Australia used to thrash England (before gloating about it insufferably), was going to the wire. Five wonderfully close Test matches had brought the country to a standstill. (It even knocked The World's Favourite Sport off of the back pages for a while.) Out of curiosity, I checked out the American press to see whether news of this parochial clash obsessing England had made it across the pond.

It was with pride that I saw that it had made the New York Times (if I remember correctly), albeit in a report so hidden away that it seemed surprised to be found. The article stated—casually, with no supporting evidence—that cricket was the “world's second most popular sport”. The next day I saw the claim again, equally unsubstantiated, in the British version of the Times. I was reminded of this recently by a comment on our inaugural Game Theory post: “After soccer/football, what is the world's SECOND most popular sport?...I heard it may be cricket, but controversy abounds.” It got me wondering how one defines a sport's popularity. The first definition that leaps to mind is the number of people watching it on television. But does one measure a single sporting event, or the number of people who watch a game over the year? The only time a billion people have watched a single sporting-related event was the opening ceremony at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, according to futures sport+entertainment , a consultancy. In fact it is the most-watched TV programme of all time.

Still, I don't think a cutesy Chinese kid lip-synching a sickly song about how the world is one happy family really counts as sport. Kevin Alavy, the director of futures sport+entertainment, says that “broadly speaking, the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics are by far the two most-watched sporting events, with the UEFA European Championships ranked third. There's then quite a large gap to…the FIA Formula One World Championship, NFL Super Bowl and the IOC Winter Olympics.” So where does cricket fit in? By these figures it seems preposterous to advance it as the world's second favourite. However, the number of people watching its showpiece, the World Cup Final, is wholly dependent on whether India has made it through. It would be of little surprise to me if, in a non-Olympic or World Cup summer, this year's final between India and Sri Lanka—in Mumbai—was the most-watched sporting event in 2011. Yet I don't think these one-offs are a good indicator. In 2008, the second-most watched sporting event (not featuring cutesy kids and the like) was a volleyball game between China and Cuba.

I've accidentally sat through a baseball game on television. But I'm not a fan and I don't want my name chalked up alongside it when awards for popularity are handed out. Which leaves us with the notion of “regular” viewers. Here, cricket might be a viable contender for second. What is important is not that it is a global sport—very few countries give a hoot about it—but that it is phenomenally popular in two places, India and Pakistan, whose combined population makes up over a fifth of the world's total. In contrast, American football attracts little attention outside the United States, which has just a quarter of India's population. Supporting from the stands How about attendance figures? By this measure Major League Baseball (MLB) storms it. In 2010 combined attendance was over 73m, although it has the advantage of a stupendous number of games in a season—2,424. The second-most attended sporting league in the world is also in baseball—Japan's Nippon Professional Baseball, with over 22m spectators in 2009. In contrast, the English Premier League attracts just 13.2m to its stadia.

Indeed, football's six most attended leagues—England's Premier League (EPL), Germany's Bundesliga, Spain's La Liga, England's Championship, Italy's Serie A and French Ligue 1—muster fewer specatators between them, with 64m, than MLB alone. Then again, most have a mere 300-400 games in a season, meaning that the average attendance per game is comparable (30,138 for MLB and 34,780 for the EPL, for example). The best average attendances are at NFL games (66,960) followed by the Bundesliga (42,673). We might also consider revenue. According to Deloitte , the EPL's revenue in the 2009-10 season was €2.3 billion ($3.1 billion), with football in the whole of Europe generating a combined €16.3 billion. This compares with NFL's $9 billion, MLB's $7.2 billion and the NBA's $4.1 billion in 2011, according to Plunkett Research .

Comparable revenue figures for the Indian Premier League, cricket's big money-spinning event, are hard to come by. But Brand Finance, a British consultancy, estimated the IPL's brand value to be $4.1 billion in 2010. Are there other measures we can use? The number of Google hits is a tempting proxy. However, this is problematic for two reasons. First, it will favour sports that are popular in countries with high internet penetration. Even if one could adjust for that, however, there is still the issue of the word “football”, which encompasses both the world game and gridiron. If you type “football” into Google, you get 1.5 billion returns. “Soccer”, which relatively few people outside America use, gets 740m, while “American football”, used exclusively outside the United States, notches 36m. So it is likely the big majority of those 1.5 billion refer to the roundball game.

“Basketball” gets you 627m hits, “cricket” 351m (although some of these might be of the six-legged variety); “golf” 271m; “volleyball” 177m and “Formula 1” 90m. An alternative test would be how many people can recognise a star player. This would give the individual sports a boost, since stars like Roger Federer and Michael Schumacher have their faces adorned on billboards around the world—although I also refuse to believe there is a single person on the subcontinent who would be unable to put a name to a picture of Sachin Tendulkar (27m Google hits, pictured above). And there are probably undiscovered Amazonian tribes that could finger David Beckham (67m). Still, what share of people who could name Tiger Woods are really golf fanatics? So my proposed test is as follows: can you fully explain the most arcane rule in the sport you purport to follow—lbw in cricket, offside in football or what is happening virtually any time the ref blows his whistle in rugby? This would surely sort the true fans.

Now we just need to find someone to pay for the survey. UPDATE: Many of the comments have asked why we haven't included participation rates in the post. It was an obvious oversight, so I have had a dig around for some stats. Unfortunately, I don't think they add much clarification. The National Sporting Goods Association publishes a list for the United States. But it ranks walking, a sport apparently enjoyed by 95.8% of Americans over seven years of age, at number one. The first real sport we come to is swimming, in which just over half of Americans participate. In Britain, depending on your source, the most popular sports by participation are either swimming or angling. But clearly, not everyone who happens to take a dip is partaking in the sport of swimming. I would argue we should only include organised participation. So only people who play for a Sunday league football side, not those who play in the park with jumpers for goalposts; people who run a race, not every jogger. Compiling that list, I suspect, would be a full-time project. What is the most popular spectator sport in the following countries? (football, soccer) - Sports -Football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer...

- City-Data Forum What is the most popular spectator sport in the following countries? (football, soccer) User Name [ Register ] Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account , you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads. View detailed profile ( Advanced ) or search site with 3 posts, read 3,601 times Reputation: 10 Advertisements In the following countries what would you say is the most popular spectator sport (primarily in terms of television viewing): - United States 2,363 posts, read 1,515,899 times Reputation: 1670 Except for the U.S., the ENTIRE world loves their soccer. We love OUR football.

245 posts, read 209,500 times Reputation: 125 Japan - Baseball and soccer 2nd China, Russia - Soccer France - Soccer and Rugby 2nd USA - American Football and Baseball 2nd 3,965 posts, read 3,788,293 times Reputation: 3142 I'm pretty sure the biggest spectator sport in India and Australia is Cricket, not soccer. From how it looks, both countries take Cricket VERY seriously. I think the biggest sport in Canada is probably Ice Hockey. It's NOT a stereotype. Talk to any Canadian guy about Hockey, and prepared to get your mind blown. 3,024 posts, read 4,231,170 times Reputation: 2438 Quote: Originally Posted by branh0913 I'm pretty sure the biggest spectator sport in India and Australia is Cricket, not soccer. From how it looks, both countries take Cricket VERY seriously. I think the biggest sport in Canada is probably Ice Hockey. It's NOT a stereotype. Talk to any Canadian guy about Hockey, and prepared to get your mind blown.

Australian rules football is the biggest spectator sport in Australia by quite a margin. It's a unique australian game, I'm sure a lot of people around the world have never heard of it. Last edited by danielsa1775; 10-08-2013 at 05:12 PM.. Spectator Sports in Tokyo | Frommer's Spectator Sports advertisement For information on current sporting events taking place in Tokyo, ranging from kickboxing and pro wrestling to sumo, baseball, soccer, table tennis, and golf, contact the Tourist Information Center, or pick up a copy of the free weekly Metropolis magazine. Baseball -- Introduced into Japan from the United States in 1873, baseball is as popular among Japanese as it is among Americans. Even the annual high-school playoffs keep everyone glued to their television sets. As with other imports, the Japanese have added their modifications, including cheerleaders. Several American players have proven very popular with local fans; but according to the rules, no more than four foreigners may play on any one team. In recent years, there's been a reverse exodus of top Japanese players defecting to American teams.

There are two professional leagues, the Central and the Pacific, which play from April to October and meet in the Japan Series. In Tokyo, the home teams are the Yomiuri Giants, who play at the Tokyo Dome (tel. 03/5800-9999; station: Korakuen or Suidobashi), and the Yakult Swallows, who play at Jingu Stadium (tel. 03/3404-8999; station: Gaienmae). Other teams playing in the vicinity of Tokyo are the Chiba Lotte Marines, who play at Chiba Marine Stadium in Chiba (tel. 043/296-8900), and the Yokohama BayStars, who play in downtown Yokohama Stadium (tel. 045/661-1251).

Advance tickets go on sale Friday, 2 weeks prior to the game, and can be purchased at one of many Ticket Pia locations around town (such as the Sony building in Ginza or the Isetan department store annex in Shinjuku; ask your hotel for the one nearest you), except for the Giants, where tickets can be purchased only at Tokyo Dome. Prices for the Tokyo Dome and Jingu Stadium range from ¥1,800 for an unreserved seat in the outfield to ¥6,000 for seats behind home plate. The Giants are so popular, however, that tickets are hard to come by. Sumo -- The Japanese form of wrestling, known as sumo, began perhaps as long as 1,500 years ago and is still the nation's most popular sport, with wrestlers -- often taller than 6 feet and weighing well over 300 pounds -- revered as national heroes. A sumo match takes place on a sandy-floored ring less than 4.5m (15 ft.) in diameter; the object is for a wrestler to either eject his opponent from the ring or cause him to touch the ground with any part of his body other than his feet.

This is accomplished by shoving, slapping, tripping, throwing, even carrying the opponent. Altogether, there are 48 holds and throws, and sumo fans know them all. Most bouts are very short, lasting only 30 seconds or so. The highest-ranking players are called yokozuna, or grand champions; in 1993, a Hawaiian named Akebono was promoted to the highest rank, the first non-Japanese ever to be so honored. Nowadays, there are many high-ranking foreigners. Sumo matches are held in Tokyo at the Kokugikan, 1-3-28 Yokoami, Sumida-ku (tel. 03/3622-1100; station: Ryogoku, then a 1-min. walk; Tokyo Shitamachi Bus: Ryogoku Station). Matches are held in January, May, and September for 15 consecutive days, beginning at around 9:30am and lasting until 6pm; the top wrestlers compete after 3:30pm. The best seats are ringside box seats, but they're snapped up by companies or the friends and families of sumo wrestlers.

Usually available are balcony seats, which can be purchased at Ticket Pia locations around town and JTB travel agencies. You can also purchase tickets directly at the Kokugikan ticket office beginning at 9am every morning of the tournament. Prices range from about ¥2,100 for an unreserved seat (sold only on the day of the event at the stadium, with about 400 seats available) to ¥8,200 for a good reserved seat. If you can't make it to a match, watching on TV is almost as good. Tournaments in Tokyo, as well as those that take place annually in Osaka, Nagoya, and Fukuoka, are broadcast on the NHK channel from 4 to 6pm daily during matches. Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip. advertisement Sports Sports External Links Taekwondo, a popular martial art, originated in Korea. Taekwondo roughly translates to the way of punching and kicking, although it is sometimes translated as the way of the hands and feet.

It became standard military training in South Korea, and in 1961 the rules were standardized and taekwondo became an official Olympic sport in 2000. Taekwondo in the military is an integral part in the Korean land forces. Other Korean martial arts include subak and taekkyeon. Baseball was first introduced to Korea in 1905 by an American missionary named Phillip Gillette and has since become the most popular spectator sport in South Korea. The first South Korean professional sports league was the Korea Baseball Association, established in 1982. During the 2006 World Baseball Classic, South Korea reached the final four before losing to Japan. Prior to that final match, the South Korean team was the only undefeated team, and had beaten Japan twice and the United States once. Other popular sports in South Korea include basketball, football, golf, tennis and ice hockey. Women's golf is especially strong, with 45 South Koreans playing on the world's leading women's tour, the U.S. LPGA Tour, including stars such as future Hall of Famer Se Ri Pak.

South Korea's Olympic teams have also traditionally performed strongly in archery, shooting, badminton, table tennis, fencing, weightlifting, boxing, judo, short track speed skating, taekwondo, kumdo, wrestling as well as handball and field hockey. In 1988, South Korea hosted the Summer Olympics in Seoul. There is an ongoing campaign to have a future Winter Olympics held in Pyeongchang County. South Korea has hosted the Asian Games in 1986 and 2002. The 2002 FIFA World Cup was jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan, and South Korea became the first Asian team to reach the semi-finals. The Korea Republic national football team, also known as the "Taeguk Warriors", qualified for the 2006 FIFA World Cup in Germany for their sixth consecutive World Cup. During the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin the South Korean short track team dominated their event, taking home six of the eight gold medals available as well as three silvers and one bronze. Skaters Ahn Hyun Soo and Jin Sun-Yu were the second and third persons in the Games to win three gold medals.

Video games take on a sport-like presentation in South Korea, the most popular of which being Starcraft. Although not recognized as a sport in its own right, the professional leagues are televised through channels such as MBC Game and OnGameNet with announcers, professional players and big-name sponsors such as Adidas. The three major professional Starcraft leagues are Proleague, MSL and OSL. See StarCraft professional competition for more information. world's biggest sports - World's most popular sports World's biggest sports A significant sport in India, which is competitive in international terms, as well as in Korea and Turkey. Some minor interest across a number of countries. 30 Speed Skating 33 Indycar Very regional sport, but a huge sport in Australia, with considerable interest also in the UK. Lesser global appeal means it remains to some extent in the shadow of it's larger cousin Rugby Union, which some its major starts have defected to. 12 Badminton Biggest Global Sports A statistics-based analysis of the world's most popular sports Dominant sport in: Germany, France, UK, Italy, Brazil, Russia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands, Nigeria. S.

Arabia Huge sport in: China, Japan, S.Korea, S. Africa Major sport in: Australia, India, Canada Medium sport in: US, Indonesia 1 Association Football (soccer) High interest: All months The following list of the world's biggest sports is based on data collected on amount of coverage from major online sports news websites on a daily basis across some of the world's biggest countries, with amount of coverage weighted by country size to evaulate a true list of the world's biggest sports. Soccer is the biggest global sport and a top 10 sport in all countries measured, as well as the dominant sport in South America, Europe and Africa. The world cup final is watched by an estimated 600 million people and the annual CL final by more than 300 million. More than 200 countries take part in the world cup qualifying. Has 5 of 10 worlds highest attended leagues and stars Messi and Ronaldo in top 10 paid sportsmen.

Huge sport in: US, China, Turkey Major sport in: Italy, Germany, France, Russia, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Spain, S.Korea, S.Arabia, Indonesia Medium sport in: Australia, Japan, Nigeria, Netherlands, S. Africa Minor sport in: UK Fringe sport in: India High interest: November to June A massive sport in US and China, as well as major across continental europe and South America, making it one of the biggest global sports. NBA finals broadcast in over 200 countries, with over 10 countries represented on the the rosters. Over 200 national basketball federations. Lebron James and Kobe Bryant 2 of world's top 4 paid sportsmen 4 Cricket Huge sport in: UK, Australia, South Africa Minor sport in: Nigeria Fringe sport in: France, Germany, Spain, Turkey, S.Korea, Netherlands. S. Arabia, Indonesia High interest: All months Dominates sports media coverage for around a quarter of the world's population in the Indian sub-continent. Also huge in UK, Australia and South Africa.

2011 world cup final watched by more than 400 million globally and semi-final between Pakistan and India by reported 1 billion. Indian hero Dhoni earns almost $30 million per year 3 Tennis Major sport in: France, Germany, Italy, UK, China, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Turkey, S.Arabia, Indonesia, Netherlands, S. Africa and Australia Medium sport in: Japan, US, S.Korea, Nigeria High interest: May to September and January Probably the world's most universal sport being in the top 7 sports in every single country measured and a major sport of interest in Asia, Europe, Australasia, Latin and North America, thus making it 3rd in world's biggest sports. Wimbledon finals in top 10 most watched annual events and Roger Federer 2nd highest paid sportsman. More than 40 countries represented in top 100 players 5 Baseball Huge sport in: US, Japan, S.Korea, Canada Major sport in: Mexico Minor sport in: Netherlands Fringe sport in: France, Germany, Italy, UK, Australia, China, India, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, S.

Arabia, Indonesia, Nigeria, S. Africa High interest: April to October Huge sport in 2 economic powerhouses of US and Japan, being the biggest sport in the latter. Also a major sport in Canada, Mexico and Korea. MLB and Nippon league are the 2 most attended sports leagues in the world. Many of world's stars are also from latin american origin. 6 Formula 1 Major sport in: Canada, Mexico Minor sport in: UK, Germany, Spain, Turkey, Brazil, Japan, Nigeria and S.Korea, Fringe sport in: France, Italy, Netherlands, China, Russia, Australia, S. Arabia, S. Africa and Indonesia High interest: August to February The biggest sport in the US, with popularity fueled by the US domestic market, where the Superbowl is regularly the most watched annual event. Also big in neigbouring Canada and Mexico. Whilst less successful in globalising than other US sports, it maintains some interest as a minor sport in most of the world and has 2 of top 10 paid sporstmen. 7 American football Major sport in: Germany, UK, Italy, Spain, Brazil, Mexico, Netherlands, S.

Arabia, Medium sport in: Japan, China. India, France, Russia, Turkey, South Africa Minor sport in: Australia, Canada, Nigeria. Fringe sport in: US, S.Korea High interest: February to November Has a major following in Europe and Latin America, but also has strong interest across the developing world. Races broadcast to over 200 countries with a reported estimated viewing figures of around 500 million per race. Around $3 billion spent annually by the F1 constructors. Major sport in: Nigeria Medium sport in: China, Japan, UK, Germany, France, Italy, Brazil, India, Russia, Spain, Mexico, Turkey, S. Africa, Netherlands, S. Arabia and Indonesia Minor sport in: US, Australia, Canada, S.Korea High interest: May to August A very global sport with significant interest across all countries measured. Most watched sport in world's biggest event, the summer Olympics, with 100m final an iconic global event gaining an estimated audience over a billion. More than 40 countries gained medals at the last olympics from all continents. 8 Athletics Major sport in: US, Japan, UK, S.Korea, S.

Africa Medium sport in: Australia, Germany, Italy, France, India, Canada, Netherlands and Spain Minor sport in: China, Mexico, Turkey, Nigeria and Indonesia Fringe sport in Brazil, Russia, S. Arabia High interest: April to August A major sport in US, Japan, Korea and UK, it also has solid interest in most of the rest of the world, including the rest of Europe and Australia. Heavy interest for 4 majors and Ryder Cup between US and Europe. Strong growth considered to be driven by global popularity of Tiger Woods. Annual Fedex Cup offers winner $10 million 9 Golf Minor sport in: France, S.Korea, Netherlands Fringe sport in UK, Italy, China, Japan, India, Brazil, Australia, Mexico, Spain, Turkey, S. Arabia High interest: November to June Biggest sport in Canada, 2nd in Russia and 4th in the US, making it the biggest "winter" sport. Some interest also in Western Europe. World championship gained cumulative audience of over 700 million in over 100 countries, despite limited participation of some major NHL stars.

10 Ice Hockey Major sport in: Mexico, Russia, Indonesia Medium sport in: US, UK, Germany, Spain, Japan, India, Brazil, S. Africa, S. Arabia and Nigeria Minor sport in: France, Italy, China, Australia, Canada, S.Korea, Turkey, Netherlands High interest:All year Significant following in North and Latin America, much of Europe and Japan. Floyd Mayweather reported to earn more than $50 million per fight. World champions from every contininent, particularly Japan, Mexico, US, UK and Russia. Less structured nature of sport considered to put popularity under threat from UFC. 11 Boxing Major sport in: China, India Medium sport in: S.Korea Minor sport in: Japan, Nigeria Fringe sport in: UK, France, Russia, Brazil, Canada, Spain, Turkey, S. Arabia, Netherlands High interest:August, April Huge population reach being a top 5 sport in China Indonesia and India. Players such as Lin Dan in China and Saina Nehwal in India are considered major sporting figures, with richest stars having a net worth of more than 30 million dollars.

More limited interest in Europe and America 13 Volleyball Major sport in: Brazil, Turkey, S.Korea Medium sport in: China, Japan, France, Italy, Russia Minor sport in: Germany, Netherlands, S. Arabia, Nigeria, Indonesia Fringe sport in: UK, US, India, Mexico, Canada, Spain High interest:August to December Big in the developing world, particularly Brazil, but also asia and parts of Europe. More national federations than any other sport at more than 200 and some estimates place it as having the most number of participants. World championships screened live across Europe and Asia. 16 Snooker Fringe sport in: Germany, India, Brazil, Spain, Turkey, Netherlands High interest:October to May High in the rankings primarily due to huge interest in China, where it is the number 4 sport. Also some interest in UK, where it was traditionally based. Now a large part of tour is played in China, whilst world championship has a prize pot of over $1 million 15 Swimming Medium sport in: France, Italy, Australia, China, Japan, Brazil, S.Korea, Netherlands, S.

Africa, Indonesia Minor sport in: UK, Germany, US, India, Russia, Turkey, Canada, Mexico, Spain, S. Arabia Fringe sport in: Nigeria High interest:April to September Global sport being top 20 in almost every country measured, although no higher than 8th in any country. Second highest interest sport in Summer Olympics, with champions from US, Asia, Europe and South America, although more limited interest for regular events. GII Score: Huge sport in: South Africa Major Sport in: France, UK, Australia Medium sport in: Italy, Japan, Spain Minor sport in: S. Arabia, Nigeria, Netherlands Fringe sport in: Russia, Brazil, Germany, China, S.Korea, Turkey, Canada, Indonesia High interest:September to May A major sport for about 5% of worlds population living in Australia, South Africa, France and UK, with some interest in the rest of the world.

World cup is a huge global event, with attendance figures of 2 million+ across all games in recent versions, reportedly only surpassed only in scale by Olympics, football world cup and Tour de France GII Score: Baseball in Japan Baseball In Japan Bridge Across the Pacific Baseball is the most popular team sport in Japan, with high school, university, and professional games stirring the public and dominating the media during the spring and summer months. Baseball was first played in Japan in 1873 at Kaisei Gakko ( now Tokyo University ) under the instruction of an American teacher, Horace Wilson. Around 1880 the first Japanese baseball team was organized at the Shimbashi Athletic Club, and several college teams were formed in Tokyo. During the period 1890 to 1902, a team from the First Higher School in Tokyo played and often defeated a team made up of American residents in Yokohama; the publicity for these games helped make baseball one of the most popular Western sports in Japan. Amateur Baseball Organizations Around 1900, baseball clubs were formed in middle schools throughout the country. Baseball became Japans major school sport, with interscholastic competitions leading the way.

The annual series between Waseda University and Keio University ( known as the Sokeisen ), the most popular intercollegiate rivalry, started in 1903. Three universities, Waseda, Keio, and Mejii-formed a league in 1914, which by included three other universities, Hosei, Rikkyo, and Tokyo, becoming the Tokyo Big Six University Baseball League. Before 1945, the Big Six was Japans most popular league, and it remains the favorite league in college baseball. By the late 1970s there were 253 college teams. Leading teams from each region of the country participates in the annual Japan Collegiate Baseball Championship. High school baseball activity is dominated by the National High School Baseball Championship Tournament, held each year in March and April, and the All-Japan High School Championship Tournament, held in August.

These events, which trace their origins back to 1924 and 1915 respectively, are held at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture and are commonly known as the spring and summer Koshien tournaments.These schools that represent every Japanese prefecture, they recieve extensive attention in the press, are broadcast live nationwide on radio and television, and consistently rival professional baseball popularity. Non student amateur teams also compete in a number of recognized leagues and tournaments, of which the inter city Baseball Championship Tournament and the Japan Amateur Baseball Championship Tournament are the most important. All amateur activity, including high school baseball, is supervised by the Japan Amateur Baseball Federation, which is composed of separate groups governing high school, college, and other amateur competition. Development of Professional Baseball When an American major league all-star team came to Japan in 1934, an All-Japan Team was selected from the best players of the nonprofessional teams. With these members as its core, the first professional team, the Nihon Baseball Club, was organized at the end of 1934, and by then seven professional teams had been formed.

Though not as popular as amateur baseball before World War ll, professional baseball rapidly grew into Japans most popular spectator sport in the post war years, with an annual attendance of over 14 million, and televised games became top-rated programs. Japan-United States Baseball Games The first Japanese baseball team to visit the United States was the Waseda University team in 1905. Two years later the first semiprofessional American team came to Japan from Hawaii, and, in the following years, several international matches were organized by colleges and clubs. Waseda University and the University of Chicago played 10 games between 1906 and 1936. Japanese-American teams from Seattle began tours in 1914, 1918, 1920, and 1923. Hawaiian teams continued to tour in 1915, 1920, and an all-star Nisei Team from Fresno, California set up exhibitions in 1924, 1927.

In1926, the San Jose Asahis travel to Japan and Korea, and the Stockton Yamato Athletic Club follows the same path in 1928. The Los Angeles Nippons make their first tour to Japan in 1931. An all-star team from Central California and Northern California combined to form the Alameda-Kono All-Stars that tour to Japan, Korea, and Manchuria, China in 1937. As for American major leaguers, a world tour team led by Charles Comiskey and John McGraw was the first to visit Japan in 1913. Major league all-star teams managed by Connie Mack that came to Japan in 1931 and 1934 with such notable players as Lefty Grove, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Jimmie Foxx made a strong impression on the Japanese public and led to the formation of the first professional team in Japan. After World War II, Japanese-American baseball interchanges became more frequent. In 1949 the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League visited Japan, followed by numerous major league teams. In recent years some Japanese professional teams have held spring training camps in America.

Since 1936, over 400 Americans have played for Japanese professional teams.

Question: What is the most popular spectator sport in Japan?
Answer: Baseball