JAPAN
Capital: Tokyo | Population: 126 million
Lead body for sport development: Japan Sports Agency
| Government Support | B |
| Elite Sport Rank | 8 |
| Elite Sport Rank Per Capita | 41 |
| Youth Sport Participation Grade | B- |
Established in 2015, the Japan Sports Agency (JSA), housed within the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology, is the agency responsible for sport policy. The JSA exists as an administrative arm of the government and has a budget of ¥180 billion (or $1.24 billion USD). The JSA aims to create a Japanese “society in which people are healthy in body and mind and lead a cultural lifestyle [of sport] throughout their lives.” Japan’s first national sports policy, the Basic Act on Sport, was created in 1999 and revolutionized sport in the country by developing sport as an industry, as one of three priority areas to revitalize the economy.
Japan is a sports powerhouse, winning 27 gold medals in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, just behind China and the United States. Its funding system on sports development has been increasingly dual track since the 2000s. Although overall public sports spending surged by 68% amidst intensive preparation for the Olympic Games to ¥974 billion ($6.7 billion USD) during 2013-2019, public funds represented just one-fifth (18%) of total income of 70-plus National Sport Associations in 2020, with the rest coming from business income (63%) and self-generated revenue (17%). Sports in Japan represent nearly 2% of the overall GDP.
As part of the Basic Act on Sport, National Sport Associations (NSAs) were tasked with developing business plans to generate new sponsorships and commercial opportunities. The government also offered benefits for the private sector to invest: matching grants to NSAs, tax deductions to donors, incentives for corporate-owned sports clubs, and newly dedicated lottery funds for local sports. Three-quarters of the profits from lottery sales are designated for subsidizing a range of sports projects. Community sports are largely funded by the Sports Promotion Lottery, which in 2022 generated approximately ¥14.8 billion ($101.8 million USD) in support.
The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) is a key partner in the sport system. The JOC, in coordination with the Japan Sport Association (JPSO), oversee the 40 National Sport Associations (NSAs). The NSAs in coordination with JPSO and other local clubs, federations, schools, and amateur sport associations are responsible for the mass sport movement in Japan.
The JSA and other sport bodies supported the creation of a UNICEF Japan resource in 2018, the Children’s Rights in Sports Principles which articulates expectations for sport organizations, schools and coaches. The resource calls for the development of a governance system to protect children against risks. Despite a major fallout in 2021 with child protection issues in sport, it does not appear that Japan has created an established mechanism within its sport system for reporting abuse.