1-III. Sport Budget (Sport Policy)

1. National Budget for Sport

Figure 1-3 shows the budget trends of the Sports and Youth Bureau of the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT) and the Japan Sports Agency, which have been responsible for promoting sports in Japan. The sports budget, which stood at 12.2 billion yen in FY2002, continued to increase slightly until FY2008, but in response to the revision of the government curriculum guidelines in FY2007, which made martial arts compulsory, the budget for the development of martial arts halls for public junior high schools increased. As a result, in FY2009, the total budget came to 22.5 billion yen, exceeding the 20-billion-yen threshold. After a slight increase thereafter, the budget for FY2015 rose to 28.9 billion yen on the back of the decision to host the Tokyo 2020 Games in September 2013. Then the budget showed a further increase to 32.3 billion yen in FY2016, topping 30 billion yen for the first time. It can be said that creating the Japan Sports Agency, which promotes sports measures comprehensively, accelerated the hike in the sports budget. With the aim of achieving the policy goals set out in the Second Sport Basic Plan, the budget has been the 35-billion-yen mark since FY2017, reflecting the continuous increase in funding for projects related to improving athletic performance in preparation for international competitions and for developing measures that contribute to solving social issues through sports. The budget for FY2023 hit a record high of 35.9 billion yen, including 2.8 billion yen earmarked for environmental improvement in anticipation of the gradual transition of school-based sports club activities to local communities.

In addition to the initial budget set each fiscal year, there are additional amounts from the supplementary budget. A supplementary budget is created when new financial needs arise in the middle of a fiscal year. In FY2020, a supplementary budget was drawn up three times, providing additional funds of 102.37 billion yen. Of this amount, 56 billion yen was appropriated for COVID-19 countermeasures in the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games and 12.69 billion yen for COVID-19 countermeasures in host towns and others, reflecting the government’s policy of taking emergency measures against COVID-19. The amount also included funds for projects to support the holding of local tournaments to replace national tournaments for school sports club activities and projects to establish exercise habits for children in the aftermath of COVID-19. In particular, 4.8 billion yen was appropriated as a subsidy for continuing sports business to help cover the expenses of sports organizations and individual business operators who were forced to refrain from holding activities due to the pandemic, so they can resume or continue their activities.

In FY2021, 8.5 billion yen was set aside as a supplementary budget, which was passed for the purpose of preventing the spread of COVID-19, continuing from the previous fiscal year, and resuming socioeconomic activities and preparing for the crisis under the policy of co-existing with COVID-19. Of this amount, 5.1 billion yen was earmarked to support the holding of national-level sports events and such like to subsidize part of the costs necessary for sports organizations, etc. that host national sports leagues or tournaments to do so with thorough implementation of measures against infectious diseases at the games and publicize such measures taken. The aim is to ensure thorough implementation of measures against infectious diseases by improving the way games are operated, to expand the provision of experiential opportunities during the pandemic and to thoroughly implement measures against infectious diseases at international tournaments. In addition, 1.0 billion yen was provided to support the development of a sports environment to prevent people with disabilities from refraining from exercise, and 0.83 billion yen was granted to the Japan Sport Council, founder of the High Performance Sport Center, to cover the expenses needed to put in place a system for measures against infectious diseases at the Center.

The supplementary budget passed in FY2022 was 4.6 billion yen. In order to ensure the smooth implementation of an integrated environment for collaboration between school-based sports club activities and local communities and the transfer of school-based activities to local sports clubs from the beginning of FY2023, 1.9 billion yen was allocated to help cover the expenses required for local municipalities to establish a transition system, such as holding training sessions for general coordinators to liaise and coordinate with related parties and establishing human resource banks.