The most popular sports in Japan 日本で人気のスポーツ

Published on : 28/05/2018
by : J.L.

Le football suscite beaucoup de ferveur au Japon. Ici, un tifo aux couleurs du drapeau japonais, au stade Nissan de Yokohama

Championnat inter-lycées de base-ball à Chiba

Les supporters des Hiroshima Toyo Carp, vainqueurs de la ligue centrale en 2016

top sports

According to a recent survey of the Japanese population, it emerged that the most popular sports were pretty much the same for everyone. The men preferred baseball first, football second, and then tennis. Among women, figure skating took the lead, followed by baseball and tennis.

THE other land of baseball

As we can see, baseball wins all the votes. After the introduction of this sport by the Americans in the Meiji era (1868-1912), it became almost the national sport, especially among young people who practice it a lot. Matches are broadcast on television all year round, closely followed by all segments of the population. All Japanese high schools have their team and the summer tournament (an equivalent to NCAA men's basketball tournament) unleashes their passions to support their teams!

Read: Baseball in Japan

Un batting center à Tokyo — Individual boxes allow you to have fun in complete safety
wikimedia

The new ice cream stars

The phenomenon of the moment is undoubtedly found with figure skating, a sport that Japanese women acclaim at the highest point. Fans travel all over the world to admire their idols at competitions and galas, led by Yuzuru Hanyu. His gold medal at the last 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea further increased the enthusiasm around him and his sport, especially since another Japanese, Shoma Uno, was on the second step of the podium. The Japanese love the charisma and professionalism of these always impeccable champions. They often appear on TV shows and capsize hearts.

These last Winter Olympics also highlighted other lesser-known sports, such as curling, thanks to athletes who particularly distinguished themselves, winning a bronze medal for women, making them very popular at the same time. Their confrontations against other Asian teams, in particular the Chinese and Korean rivals, became a matter of national honor.

Shoma Uno (médaille d'argent) à gauche, Yuzuru Hanyu (médaille d'or) au centre et Javier Fernandez (médaille de bronze) à droite. — Shoma Uno (silver medal) on the left, Yuzuru Hanyu (gold medal) in the center and Javier Fernandez (bronze medal) on the right.
andy miah

The influence of popular culture

The world of manga is not immune to the craze for sports and we can say that each sport is entitled to its specific manga. Baseball wins the prize with nearly 450 works already published, including the famous "Touch" ("Theo or the victory bat") released in the 1980s and of which 100 million copies have since been sold!

Manga follows the trend, or can also create one, as was the case with the hit manga "Olive and Tom" ("Captain Tsubasa" in Japan) which encouraged many Japanese children to want to play soccer in the 1980s-90s. The practice of this sport is also growing among women, with Japan having won the Women's World Cup in 2011. Through futsal, which is easier to set up in the heart of cities, football is becoming ever more democratic.

In the 1980s, the game of basketball was showcased in the manga "Slam dunk", dethroned today by "Kuroko's basket" and by NBA games broadcasted on television.

The child of the ball

Finally, we must not forget tennis, which is not at all a traditional Japanese sport. But a few seasons ago a great champion emerged, his name is Kei Nishikori. His ranking in the top 10 of the best players in the world has developed an audience for the sport. He even became the face of the Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO and spearheaded Japanese sport around the world.

To go further: Japanese sports