This article highlights the following points;
1. Sport Administrative Organizations
2. The Sport Basic Plan
3. JSA Measures etc.
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This article highlights the following points;
1. Sport Administrative Organizations
2. The Sport Basic Plan
3. JSA Measures etc.
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 (Figure 1-1). MEXT has been responsible for wide range of policies, including those related to school sport and physical education and activities of school clubs as well as regional sport. They are also responsible for hosting and participating in international sport competitions such as the Olympics and Paralympics and the FIFA World Cup and enhancing high performance sport.
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 sport administration. At present, due to the reform of the public interest corporation system, these organizations are administered by the Cabinet Office. Moreover, many industries responsible for sport 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 and physical 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 sport 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 sport facilities such as sport/ multipurpose parks used for the National Sports Festivals, and the Japan Tourism Agency of MLIT is in charge of promoting sport tourism. As is seen here, a large number of government offices are involved in the promotion of sport.
Sport 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 sport has led to the comprehensive promotion of sport policies that span over several different fields, and the sport administration is expected to increase the effectiveness of those policies. In this context, “comprehensive review of the modality of administrative 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 was awarded 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.
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 the Sports 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 at the time of the Sports and Youth Bureau to 121 and is expected to be 114 in FY2023.
1. Policy Division
The Policy Division is responsible for the overall administration and management of the Japan Sports Agency as well as for the promotion of martial arts and public relations. The Office for Planning and Coordination, established in the Policy Division, is in charge of operations related to The Sport Basic Plan, administration of the sports council and measures for school physical education. Measures for school physical education, which used to be handled by the MEXT, are now under the shared jurisdiction of the Elementary and Secondary Education Bureau of the MEXT and the Japan Sports Agency’s Office for Planning and Coordination.
2. Sports for Health Division
The division is responsible for promoting health through sports, including the promotion of sports to the public and the promotion of sports based on the knowledge of preventative medicine, and encouraging participation of women and working generations in sports. It is in charge of the Sport in Life Project, the Sports Yell Company accreditation project, and initiatives related to health management in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). The division also promotes disability sports through its Office to Promote Para-Sports (note, however, that it was transferred from the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in FY2014 before the Japan Sports Agency was established).
3. Community Sports Division
The Community Sports Division was newly established under the reorganization implemented in FY2022. It is responsible for reforming sports club activities in schools, which is one of the major policies of the Japan Sports Agency, and reviews the phased transition of sports club activities on holidays in public junior high schools and other public schools to local communities and the competitions in which participation is on a school basis.
The division is also in charge of promoting community development through sports, such as strengthening the operating structure of integrated community sports clubs and promoting local sports activities, and promoting sports activities for preschool children through to university students by utilizing the Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood in the field, enhancing youth sports clubs, supporting university sports and taking other steps.
4. Competitive Sports Division
In an aim to enhance international competitiveness for the Olympic and Paralympic Games and other events, the division works to support activities to strengthen top athletes and to build a base for reinforcement and research activities for top athletes. In the former, the division provides support for intangible aspects, such as supporting various sports organizations with reinforcement activities and implementing professional and high-level support in a strategic and comprehensive manner through sports medicine, science and information for sports with high potential for winning medals. In the latter, support for tangible aspects is given, such as the development of a national training center to serve as a base for reinforcement activities. The division also works to ensure the integrity of the sport world through the use of the Governance Code for National Sport Federation Members and to support the strengthening of the organizational base with the aim of promoting reforms and autonomous operation of sports organizations.
5. Community Development Division
This division is in charge of regional revitalization and town planning using sports aimed at vitalizing communities and the economy through promoting sporting events and sports tourism, and hosting tournaments, training camps and such like. It also undertakes projects to promote the effective use of physical education facilities at schools,
adoption of universal design for sports facilities, and public use of private sports facilities in order to secure and enhance a sustainable environment for sports in local communities.
6. Sports Organizations Support and Private-Sector Cooperation Division
This division leads the transformation of sports into a growth industry through digital transformation (DX) in the field of sports, use of technology and promotion of open innovation in sports, and promotion of stadium and arena reforms. It is also responsible for strengthening the management capability of sports organizations, training coaches, instructors and other personnel, and helping athletes develop their careers.
7. International Affairs Division
The International Affairs Division was established in FY2022, taking over some of the duties of the previous International Affairs Division and the Olympic and Paralympic Affairs Division. It has a comprehensive role in international sport strategies including international exchange and cooperation through sports, support for obtaining executive positions in international sports organizations, support through bids and holding international competitions and matches and promotion of anti-doping activities. It also undertakes initiatives to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Third Sport Basic Plan was formulated in March 2022, outlining the measures and targets to be tackled in the five years from FY2022 to FY2026. In formulating the Third Plan, a review of the four pillars of the Second Plan (FY2017-2021) and changes in social conditions were taken into account.
The first pillar is boosting the participating population, i.e., people who “do”, “watch” and “support” sports, and enhancing human resource development and venues for this purpose. Compared with the target values of the Second Plan, which used the percentage of persons playing sports in FY2021 as an indicator of the participating population, 56.4% of adults played sports at least once a week (about 65% of the target value) while 30.4% played sports at least three times a week (about 30% of the target value), and 31.0% of persons with disabilities played sports at least once a week (about 40% of the target value) while 16.5% played sports at least three times a week (about 20% of the target value). Although these percentages reflected a certain level of achievement, increasing from the levels at the time the plan was formulated, the results other than the rate of adults who played sports at least three times a week have not reached the targets set in the Second Plan. There is a need to continue creating an environment and building momentum for people of the country to play sports, and in particular, to reach out to people in the low-frequency tier who do not play sports at all and those who play sports less than once a week.
The second pillar was the realization of a vibrant, close-knit society through sports. Under the Second Plan, steps were taken by various entities to put in place an environment for the implementation of sports, but the percentage of persons with disabilities playing sports has not reached the target. In addition, the percentage of women playing sports continues to fall short of that of men. As for the realization of a healthy, long-lived society through sports, there is a need to develop a system to accumulate and utilize further evidence. In terms of economic and community revitalization, efforts have been made to promote stadium-arena reforms and sports tourism initiatives. However, the measures initially envisioned have been found to be insufficient in some respects under the COVID-19 pandemic. While such issues remain, the targets set in the Second Plan, including the number of Japanese in executive positions at international sports federations and other organizations, were largely achieved in terms of international exchange and cooperation. There is a need to continue actively promoting international exchange and cooperation through sports, thereby contributing to maintaining and improving Japan’s presence in the international community.
The third pillar was the development of strong and sustainable human resources and an environment to enhance international competitiveness. At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, the number of gold medals and the total number of medals both reached record highs. Also at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, the total number of medals nearly marked a record high. The international competitiveness must be advanced effectively and efficiently also after the Games.
The fourth pillar was the enhancement of the value of sports through the promotion of clean and fair sports. In this regard, the Action Plan for Ensuring Sport Integrity was compiled in December 2018, and initiatives such as the formulation of the Governance Code for National Sport Federation Members were taken. On the other hand, scandals in the management of sports organizations and problematic cases of inappropriate guidance have occurred also in recent years. In addition to striving to eradicate non-compliance, corporal punishment and violence among persons related to sports, it is necessary to strengthen the governance of sports organizations and ensure transparency in their management.
In addition, during the five-year period of the Second Plan, various social conditions changed. In particular, the spread of COVID-19 since 2020, has upended daily life and restricted many sports activities. As a result, the Tokyo 2020 Games were postponed by a year and most of the games were held without spectators. The decrease in opportunities to participate in sports due to the pandemic and the holding of the Tokyo 2020 Games were frequently mentioned in the Third Plan and can be said to have been the social changes that were given the most emphasis in formulating the plan.
Moreover, the declining birthrate, aging population and declining population, particularly in rural areas, are accelerating, leading to a decline in the number of people participating in sports and those who take roles in promoting sports and to widening regional disparities. Rapid technological innovation is also driving the need for digital transformation (DX) across industries. Furthermore, changes in lifestyles, i.e., ways of working and living, as well as the progress of worldwide efforts to realize a sustainable society and a symbiotic society have led to significant changes in the social environment surrounding the sports world in Japan.
In light of these changes, the Third Plan reorganized the essence of sports as enjoying fun and pleasure through voluntary participation in various forms of “doing”, “watching” and “supporting” sports. Selfmotivation, fun and joy are the essence of value that sport itself has, and are also linked to the idea of well-being. With such value at the base, the additional value that sports contribute to social vitalization is also considered important. Specifically, as stated in the preamble of the Basic Act, such contribution includes the revitalization of local communities through sports, realization of a healthy and energetic long-living society, development of the economy for the people and promotion of global mutual understanding. Necessary measures are required to further enhance the aforementioned value of sports.
Based on the above review of the Second Plan and reaffirmation of the value of sports, the Third Plan, while following the direction of the Second Plan, has two major points. The first point is the succession and development of the sports legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and the second is the three new perspectives to enhance the value of sports.
(1) Creating sports opportunities in diverse settings
The policy goal is to improve the percentage of people who play sports and build a society in which each and every person can enjoy the value of sports in their daily lives. To this end, measures will be deployed to create sports opportunities for the people of Japan, enhance sports opportunities for children and improve their physical fitness, improve the percentage of women, persons with disabilities and the working generation who play sports, and promote university sports. Through these measures, the goal has been set to increase the percentage of adults who engage in sports at least once a week to 70% (40% for persons with disabilities), exceeding the numerical target of 65% set in the Second Plan. At the same time, a qualitative goal is newly adopted to increase the number of persons who make it a habit to engage in light physical activities for 30 minutes or more at least twice a week and continue to do so for at least a year, as recommended by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW). Specific measures aimed at creating opportunities to engage in sports include the “Sport in Life Project”, promotion of integrated community sports clubs, and the “Sports Yell Company” accreditation project.
Aiming to enhance sports opportunities for children and young people in schools and communities and improve their physical fitness, the reform of school-based sports club activities are being carried out based on the direction and measures of reforms proposed by the Council for Review on Transition of School-based Sports Club Activities to Communities, and ways to hold competitions are being reviewed. This will shift the operation and management of junior high school sports club activities to local communities and allow local clubs to participate in competitions. In addition, efforts will be made to raise awareness of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Early Childhood and to develop exercise habits from early childhood through the use of the Active Child Program.
(2) Promoting DX in the sports world
With the introduction of DX to the sports world, efforts are being made to expand the way sports are conducted using advanced technology and big data, and to create new business models using digital technology. The aim is to make it possible to widely provide the public and society with knowledge and opportunities related to various sports, and to increase the effectiveness of “doing”, “watching” and “supporting” sports. For example, digital technology will be used to have diverse entities provide a place to conduct sports even for persons who have difficulties going out for health reasons, and advanced technologies such as AI and VR will be used to enhance support for athletes.
In addition, support will be provided for creating business models, including the creation of new sports using digital technology through awarding business operators who are active in the use of technology, supporting model projects and conducting sports in a virtual space (metaverse). In addition, legal arrangements will be examined for the commercialization of sports-related businesses that has become possible with the development of digital technologies such as non-fungible tokens (NFT) and betting, while efforts will be made to support human resource development.
(3) Enhancement of international competitiveness
The policy goal is to realize targets in the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the major international competitions of each sport, such as the record-high number of gold medals, total number of medals won, number of prizes won, number of medal winning events and so on. To this end, support will be given to measures of the National Governing Bodies of Sport (NF) for improving athletic performance, in cooperation with the JOC and JPC
The High Performance Sport Center (HPSC) has launched a collaborative team consisting of the JOC, JPC and JSC to build an autonomous and sustainable system at the NF to strengthen athletic performance. In addition, the Japan Sports Agency will develop and assign personnel, such as reinforcement managers, coaches and staff, while enhancing the consultation system and supporting childbirth and child-rearing to promote the success of female athletes and pursue the development and assignment of elite female coaches. This will be done to help establish a system to improve athletic performance.
(4) International exchange and cooperation through sports
The government is working to enhance Japan’s global position in the world of sport by promoting international exchange and cooperation through sports. At the same time, setting the policy goal of strengthening ties among countries, regions and people through sports, steps are taken to participate in decision-making in the world of international sports and develop the sports industry internationally. To participate in decisionmaking, the identification and development of human resources who can play an active role in the International Federations (IF) and other organizations and the dispatch of personnel from the National Federations (NF) and others who will be responsible for the next generation to the relevant organizations will be promoted. The aim is to increase the number of Japanese executives in the IFs, Asian Federations and other organs and seek their re-election in the posts.
As a measure for the international expansion of the sports industry, the “Japan SPorts business INitiative (JSPIN)”, a platform to support this, has been established to encourage the creation of domestic and international networks. In addition, the four parties of the Japan Sports Agency, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Japan External Trade Organization and JSC signed a basic agreement to promote the international expansion of Japan’s sports and sports-related industries.
(5) Health promotion through sports
With the aim of contributing to the realization of a healthy, longlived society by promoting health through sports and to the extension of healthy life expectancy as stated in Health Japan 21 formulated by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), through the improvement of the percentage of persons playing sports, steps are taken to enhance research on sports that contribute to the promotion of health and implement measures in collaboration with related organizations.
The Japan Sports Agency is working to promote health through sports by disseminating and utilizing scientific knowledge in light of the lack of a system to utilize accumulated evidence on health promotion through exercise and playing sports. Concrete measures and initiatives often overlap with (1) the creation of sports opportunities at diverse settings, in part because they aim to contribute to the improvement of sports implementation rates.
In addition, efforts will be made to develop a system to lead people in the fields of medical and nursing care to sports, in cooperation with medical and nursing care providers, private business operators and insurers.
(6) Promoting sports as a growth industry
A policy goal is set to increase the size of the sports market to 15 trillion yen by 2025 by creating a virtuous cycle of expanding the market and returning profits to improving the sports environment, thereby driving an increase in the number of people participating in sports. The main initiatives are the stadium and arena reform promotion project, which was implemented based on the Second Plan, and the sports open innovation project.
In the stadium and arena reform promotion project, the know-how of the private sector will be shared to promote the transformation of cost centers into profit centers, and therefore the stadium and arena will be realized as the core of community development and regional vitalization. The sports open innovation promotion project will support the development of new business models through open innovation between professional sports organizations and other industries, honor good practices nationwide, and work to build a Sport Open Innovation Platform (SOIP) with sports at the core in communities.
(7) Regional revitalization and community development through sports
By taking steps distinctive to each relevant region toward regional revitalization and community development through sports across the country and promoting solutions to local social issues through the use of sports, the aim is to have sports contribute to local communities and society, further broaden the understanding and support of residents and citizens for the promotion of sports and create a virtuous cycle of promoting sports and promoting regional development. Based on this approach, a target has been presented to raise the ratio of local governments working on community development through promoting sports and health from 15.6% (FY2021) to 40% at the end of FY2026.
The second term of “Comprehensive strategy for overcoming population decline and revitalizing local economies” (2019) by the Cabinet Secretariat pointed out the importance of building distinctive sports legacies in each region, rather than ending the Tokyo 2020 Games as a transient event. The Third Plan also succeeds to this policy with steps taken toward regional revitalization and community development through sports in collaboration with related government agencies. As one of the projects to promote sports and healthy town planning, a system was introduced in FY2021 to award municipalities that implement outstanding measures to promote sports and healthy town planning.
In addition, efforts are being made to further promote sports tourism, which is one of the important factors in regional revitalization through sports. On top of outdoor sports tourism and martial arts tourism, contents development for utilizing local resources such as urban sports and workcations will be continued. Furthermore, in order to improve the quality of the regional sports commission, the management base will be strengthened by contributing to the region through enhancing resident services in addition to inviting customers from outside the region, and by utilizing the community reviving cooperator squad.
(8) Realizing an inclusive society through sports
Through the creation of an environment in which everyone can enjoy the value of sports that they “do”, “watch” and “support,” and enjoy sports “together” with people in various positions and circumstances, promoting disability sports and encouraging empowerment of women through sports in order to realize an inclusive society centered on sports are underway.
In the promotion of disability sports, in addition to improving the sporting environment so that persons with disabilities can participate in society through sports, efforts will be made to raise awareness of people not engaging in sports and promote understanding of the general public through having them experience disability sports to encourage changes in people’s awareness in an aim to realize an inclusive society. Specifically, there are needs to increase the number of coaches and staff related to disability sports, disseminate the teaching methods accumulated by disability sports associations, etc. and secure human resources to support disability sports.
With regard to promoting empowerment of women through sports, steps will be taken to encourage growth in the percentage of women directors in sport associations to approach the target of 40% in accordance with the Governance Code for National Sport Federation Members (2018) and the Fifth Basic Plan for Gender Equality (2020), in addition to taking initiatives toward increasing the ratio of women engaging in sports. Major initiatives include the formation of a model to match candidates with sports organizations that are active in recruiting female executives and supporting the promotion and development of female executives within sports organizations.
(9) Governance reform and management enhancement of sports organizations to be in charge
By reforming the governance and strengthening the management of sports organizations, which will be the main players in charge of providing sports opportunities, the JSA will develop measures that contribute to ensuring stable opportunities for the public to be involved in sports.
The JSA, in collaboration with the JSC and governing bodies of sports, will conduct training and other programs to enable sports associations to carry out voluntary and autonomous governance reforms. Through this training, the JSA promotes the creation of a mechanism for sharing information among sports organizations for an increase of their profit, while boosting the development of human resources to undertake the efforts to reinforce collaboration and implement strategic management, and the creation of jobs.
(10) Tangible and intangible aspects and human resources essential for promoting sports
In order to secure and strengthen the foundation that is essential for the people of Japan to become familiar with sports, including tangible aspects (venue creation), intangible aspects (environment-building) and human resources, measures which promote the creation of venues and environments, and the development of human resources involved in sports will be carried forward.
In addition to making effective use of existing facilities in accordance with the Guidelines for the Appropriate Stocking of Sports Facilities (2018), efforts will be made to actively utilize various types of space, such as open spaces in parks and empty spaces in commercial facilities, to create venues for sports outside of sports facilities. In addition, the JSA and JSPO began operating a system for the registration and certification of comprehensive community sports clubs in 47 prefectures in 2022, aiming to build a regional sports environment by improving the quality of comprehensive clubs and promoting efforts to solve regional issues through collaboration with local governments.
For the development of human resources involved in sports, on top of helping active athletes to develop dual careers, the JSA will work with Japan Anti-Doping Association to improve the qualifications and abilities of doping inspectors who can operate in an international way, and boost initiatives similar to a collaboration agreement regarding promotion of sports volunteering activities by the JSPO, SSF and the Japan Sports Volunteer Network, an NPO.
(11) Ensuring safety and security of people engaging in sports
A policy goal was set to ensure the mental and physical safety and security of people who engage in sports so that such people do not leave sports or be deprived of the opportunity to enjoy sports for reasons they are not happy with. With the aim of eradicating violence and abuse in sports coaching, the JSPO has formulated the Model Core Curriculum to train good coaches who will continue to learn throughout their lives, and incorporates the curriculum in the official sports coaching training sessions. In order to prevent slander against athletes and sexual harassment through photos and videos, steps will be taken to ensure an environment where athletes can focus on their sports by means of issuing joint statements compiled by sports-related associations and furnishing information provision forms.
In addition, efforts are being made to improve the environment and to prevent sports accidents and sports injuries so that everyone can enjoy sports safely and with a sense of security by taking measures to prevent fatal accidents during school physical education activities, and reviewing the timing of holding sports competitions in light of climate change and the characteristics of sports.
(12) Ensuring sport integrity
To enhance the integrity of sports in Japan and promote clean and fair sports in an integrated manner, the JSA will strengthen the governance of sports organizations, ensure thorough compliance, develop a dispute resolution system and promote anti-doping activities so that the people of Japan and society can fully enjoy the value of sports.
In addition to striving to eradicate non-compliance, corporal punishment and violence, etc. among sports personnel, the JSA strengthens governance of sports organizations and promotes the transparency of management of such organizations. In putting in place a dispute resolution system, increasing the number of organizations that adopt automatic acceptance clauses for sports arbitration on top of promoting the understanding of sports arbitration and mediation systems among sports organizations and athletes will be aimed. Further, efforts will be made to contribute to international anti-doping activities through participation in the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), to support inspectors who have been trained for the Tokyo 2020 Games to perform at subsequent international competitions, and to maintain and improve the level of knowledge about anti-doping activities of relevant persons in the country.
In addition to administrative organizations, a number of public interest corporations such as the Japan Sport Council (JSC), the Japan Sport Association (JSPO), the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and the National Recreation Association of Japan (NRAJ) play a significant role in the promotion of sport. Their roles include enhancement of high performance sport, provision of subsidies for promotional activities and development of a better understanding of the value of sport.
The JSC strives to promote sport and improve physical health of school children through the following activities; management of sport facilities such as the New National Stadium, conduct of various research projects at the Japan High Performance Sport Center, support for sport promotion through operation of the Sports Promotion Lottery and payment of necessary benefits in the case of accidents that occur to students under the supervision of schools. The JSPO, JOC and NRAJ preside over various sport associations such as sports organizations in the all 47 prefectures and are incorporated into the national administrative system which controls sport policies. These policies concern issues such as the improvement of Japan’s international high performance, the training of sport instructors, and the development of regional sport 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 in Japan. As a contracted party of the World Anti-Doping Code (WADA Code), the 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 other awareness-raising activities.
Until recently, the regional boards of education were principally in charge of all duties involved in sport administration for each prefecture and municipality. This was due to Article 23, item 13 (Duties and Authority of the Boards of Education) of the “Act on the Organization and Operation of 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 sport. However, under Article 4 of the Basic Act on Sport, it is now prescribed that “local governments are responsible for establishing and implementing measures concerning sport which are appropriate to the characteristics of the 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 and administer affairs related to sport 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.
As of December 2022, 11 prefectures out of 47 have placed the sport administrative department within their board of education, while 36 have placed the department within the governor’s office. According to the Japan Sports Agency’s “Survey on Local Sports Administration” (2017), of the 790 municipalities (excluding ordinance-designated cities) polled, 80.4% placed their sport administrative department within the boards of education, while 19.6% placed it within the municipality’s head office. Viewed in terms of population, 84.0% of municipalities with at least 500,000 people placed their sport administrative department within the head office, while only 2.3% of municipalities with less than 10,000 did so. Municipalities with smaller populations are therefore more likely to place the department that administers their sport within the boards of education, even after the revision of the Local Educational Administration Act.
By transferring authority of the sport administrative department from the boards of education to the governor’s office, prefectures and municipalities are attempting to not only increase the efficiency of sports- related business, but also to improve coordination with other administrative areas such as culture, tourism, social welfare and community development.
In many prefectures and ordinance-designated cities, quasi- government 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 sport. These extra-government organizations usually receive financial assistance from the relevant local government at the time of their establishment. However, how such organizations 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, are prescribed by the “Local Autonomy Act.”
When the Local Autonomy Act was partially revised in September 2003, the management of public facilities (sport 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 and voluntary basis organizations.
Due to this revision, many quasi-government corporations or public foundations that had been in operation primarily for the management and operation of public sports facilities have been forced to review their business activities and organization structures. The number of prefectures containing quasi-government corporations or public foundations has been steadily decreasing from 23 prefectures in 2005 to 18 prefectures in 2010 and 15 prefectures in 2022. Meanwhile, in September 2020, Fukuoka Prefecture newly established the Fukuoka Prefecture Sports Promotion Fund to contribute to the development of top athletes associated with the prefecture and the revitalization of the region by bidding for and holding large-scale sports events.
As of October 2022, six of the 20 ordinance-designated cities have quasi-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 have merged with sport associations (Sapporo, Chiba, Yokohama).