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In terms of sports and physical activities performed in the past year, “Strolling” came in the first place at 31.8%, followed by “Walking” at 29.4% , “Calisthenics and light exercises” at 17.4%, “Weight training” at 16.4% , and “Jogging/Running” at 8.9%.
The Sasakawa Sports Foundation has been conducting the National Sports-Life Survey in Japan.
In terms of sports and physical activities performed in the past year, “Strolling” came in the first place at 31.8% (33.53 million), followed by “Walking” at 29.4% (31.00 million), “Calisthenics and light exercises” at 17.4% (18.35 million), “Weight training” at 16.4% (17.29 million), and “Jogging/Running” at 8.9% (9.38 million).
| Total (n = 3,000) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) |
Estimated participants (in 10,000s) |
| 1 | Strolling | 31.8 | 3,353 |
| 2 | Walking | 29.4 | 3,100 |
| 3 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 17.4 | 1,835 |
| 4 | Weight training | 16.4 | 1,729 |
| 5 | Jogging/Running | 8.9 | 938 |
| 6 | Fishing | 7.2 | 759 |
| 7 | Cycling | 7.0 | 738 |
| 8 | Golf on a course | 6.7 | 707 |
| 9 | Golf practice on a driving range | 6.1 | 643 |
| 10 | Bowling | 5.5 | 580 |
| 11 | Mountaineering | 5.1 | 538 |
| 12 | Jumping rope | 5.0 | 527 |
| 13 | Swimming | 4.8 | 506 |
| Badminton | 4.8 | 506 | |
| 15 | Camping | 4.6 | 485 |
| 16 | Yoga | 4.5 | 475 |
| 17 | Playing catch | 4.4 | 464 |
| 18 | Table tennis | 4.0 | 422 |
| 19 | Hiking | 3.5 | 369 |
| 20 | Football | 3.4 | 359 |
Note: The estimated number of participants was calculated by multiplying the total population of individuals aged 18 and over (105,448,713 people according to the basic resident register as of January 1, 2021) by the percentage for each participation level.
The 2022 SSF National Sports-Life Survey
For both males and females, “Strolling”, “Walking”, “Calisthenics and light exercises”, and “Weight training” were ranked in the top 5 sports participation. On the other hand, different types of sports and physical activities by gender were listed in subsequent rankings. Furthermore, the top 4 sports participation rates were higher for females than for males, whereas the rates of the subsequent rankings were higher for males than for females.
| Male (n = 1,503) | Female (n = 1,497) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) | Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) |
| 1 | Walking | 28.6 | 1 | Strolling | 36.4 |
| 2 | Strolling | 27.3 | 2 | Walking | 30.2 |
| 3 | Weight training | 19.4 | 3 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 23.0 |
| 4 | Jogging/Running | 12.6 | 4 | Weight training | 13.4 |
| 5 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 11.8 | 5 | Yoga | 8.4 |
| 6 | Golf on a course | 11.7 | 6 | Jumping rope | 6.7 |
| 7 | Fishing | 11.5 | 7 | Badminton | 6.1 |
| 8 | Golf practice on a driving range | 10.2 | 8 | Cycling | 5.2 |
| 9 | Cycling | 8.7 | 9 | Bowling | 5.2 |
| 10 | Mountaineering | 6.2 | 10 | Jogging/Running | 5.1 |
The 2022 SSF National Sports-Life Survey
For those aged 30 and over, “Strolling” and “Walking” were the two most-participated sports. These two sports were also ranked in the top 10 for the 18-19 and 20-29 age groups, but their first and second places were “Weight training” and “Jogging/Running” for the 18-19 age group, while “Strolling” and “Weight training” for the 20-29 age group respectively. Furthermore, team sports such as “Football”, “Basketball”, “Volleyball”, and “Baseball” were mainly participated by the 18-19 age group, whilst “Golf on a course” was ranked in the top 10 for those aged 40 and over.
| 18–19 (n = 75) | 20–29 (n = 374) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) | Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) |
| 1 | Weight training | 36.0 | 1 | Strolling | 26.7 |
| 2 | Jogging/Running | 24.0 | 2 | Weight training | 23.3 |
| 3 | Strolling | 21.3 | 3 | Walking | 20.9 |
| 4 | Football | 20.0 | 4 | Bowling | 12.6 |
| Basketball | 20.0 | 5 | Jogging/Running | 12.3 | |
| Bowling | 20.0 | 6 | Badminton | 9.6 | |
| 7 | Walking | 14.7 | 7 | Basketball | 9.1 |
| 8 | Playing catch | 10.7 | 8 | Cycling | 7.8 |
| Badminton | 10.7 | 9 | Playing catch | 7.5 | |
| Volleyball | 10.7 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 7.5 | ||
| Baseball | 10.7 | ||||
| 30–39 (n = 437) | 40–49 (n = 582) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) | Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) |
| 1 | Strolling | 34.1 | 1 | Strolling | 32.1 |
| 2 | Walking | 20.1 | 2 | Walking | 30.2 |
| 3 | Weight training | 17.6 | 3 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 17.2 |
| 4 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 12.6 | 4 | Weight training | 15.8 |
| 5 | Jogging/Running | 9.8 | 5 | Jogging/Running | 12.5 |
| Fishing | 9.8 | 6 | Fishing | 10.0 | |
| 7 | Camping | 7.6 | 7 | Cycling | 9.3 |
| Jumping rope | 7.6 | Badminton | 9.3 | ||
| 9 | Playing catch | 6.4 | 9 | Camping | 8.1 |
| Cycling | 6.4 | 10 | Golf on a course | 7.6 | |
| 50–59 (n = 529) | 60–69 (n = 489) | 70+ (n = 514) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) | Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) | Rank | Types of sports | Participation rate (%) |
| 1 | Walking | 29.3 | 1 | Strolling | 35.2 | 1 | Walking | 39.5 |
| 2 | Strolling | 28.7 | 2 | Walking | 35.0 | 2 | Strolling | 34.8 |
| 3 | Weight training | 16.8 | 3 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 21.7 | 3 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 28.6 |
| 4 | Calisthenics and light exercises | 15.3 | 4 | Weight training | 13.3 | 4 | Weight training | 10.7 |
| 5 | Fishing | 8.3 | 5 | Golf on a course | 9.8 | 5 | Golf on a course | 7.8 |
| 6 | Cycling | 7.6 | 6 | Golf practice on a driving range | 7.8 | 6 | Golf practice on a driving range | 7.0 |
| Jogging/Running | 7.6 | 7 | Cycling | 6.7 | 7 | Ground golf | 5.3 | |
| 8 | Yoga | 7.0 | 8 | Fishing | 6.3 | 8 | Table tennis | 4.9 |
| 9 | Golf on a course | 6.2 | 9 | Mountaineering | 5.5 | 9 | Hiking | 4.5 |
| 10 | Golf practice on a driving range | 5.5 | 10 | Jogging/Running | 5.3 | 10 | Cycling | 4.1 |
| Swimming | 4.1 | |||||||
The 2022 SSF National Sports-Life Survey
In order to understand the levels of participation in sports and physical activities by Japanese, the Sasakawa Sports Foundation (SSF) has examined the statistical data gathered through the “SSF National Sports-Life Survey”, which has been conducted every other year since 1992. This survey measures the number of people aged 18 and over taking part in sports and physical activities across Japan in terms of frequencies, duration, and intensity. People take part in sports and physical activities in different ways, with many doing a range of activities including sports spectating and sports volunteering.
1） Population: People aged 18 and over who live in Japan
2） Sample size: 3,000
3） Number of locations: 300 (90 in metro areas; 122 in cities with a population of over 100,000 people; 64 in cities with a population of less than 100,000 people; 24 in towns and villages)
4） Extracting method: Quota method
June 10th - July 10th, 2022
Leaving method:
The survey officials visit respondents, distributing a paper-based questionnaire and having the respondents fill out the questionnaire within a certain period. Then, the survey officials return to the respondents to collect the questionnaire.
| 3,000 | Male : 1,503, Female : 1,497 | |
|---|---|---|
| 18・19 years old | 75 | Male : 41, Female : 34 |
| 20-29 | 374 | Male : 193, Female : 181 |
| 30-39 | 437 | Male : 223, Female : 214 |
| 40-49 | 582 | Male : 299, Female : 283 |
| 50-59 | 529 | Male : 267, Female : 262 |
| 60-69 | 489 | Male : 241, Female : 248 |
| 70 and over | 514 | Male : 239, Female : 275 |
This survey measures a wide range of sporting activities including fitness activities, Strolling/Walking/Cycling for leisure or travel and dance.The school PE classes were excluded whilst sports club activities at schools and workplaces were included.
Estimated sports participants are calculated by applying the rate of regular sports and physical activities participation over the past year to the total population of those 18 and over (105,448,713 people in Japan).
In this survey, the participation in sports and physical activities are divided into the following levels; “Level 0” for those who did not participate in any sports or physical activities for the past year; “Level 1” for those who participated at least once during the year, but less than twice a week; “Level 2” for those who participated at least twice a week; “Level 3” for those who participated at least twice a week with a duration of “more than 30 minutes”; and “Level 4” for those who participated at least twice a week, duration of “more than 30 minutes”, and with more than moderate intensity.
Upon request, we will provide raw data (including cross-tabulation results, text in Japanese only) from every National Sports-Life Survey taken to date. Interested parties should contact the SSF through the link below.
