JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Atsushi Igarashi, Yoichiro Kuriyama, Misa Takahashi and Kosuke Ojio, TMI Associates
8.2 Organisations and Initiatives to Promote Women’s Sport Japan has a wide range of organisations dedicated to promoting women’s sports, supporting female athletes, and improving gender equity in the sporting environment. These organisations operate at national, governmental, academic, and professional levels. The Japan Sports Association (JSPO) actively pro - motes women’s participation in sports by improv - ing the sporting environment, providing educational resources, conducting gender‑ratio surveys, and offering support tools such as menstrual‑health check resources and harassment‑prevention programmes. These initiatives are led through JSPO’s Women’s Sports Committee. The Japan Sports Agency develops national policies to enhance women’s participation in sports. Key ini - tiatives include increasing participation rates across different age groups, promoting more female leaders and board members within sports organisations, and supporting the development and advancement of female coaches. The High-Performance Sports Center (HPSC), oper - ated under the Japan Sport Council, conducts spe - cialised research and support programmes for female athletes. This includes scientific studies, health‑relat - ed support, and long‑term athlete development ini - tiatives specifically tailored to women competing in high‑performance sports. 9. Esports 9.1 Development and Growth of Esports In Japan, esports have been attracting increasing attention in recent years, with the market experienc - ing rapid expansion. The market size was estimated at approximately JPY12.5 billion in 2022 and JPY14.6 billion in 2023, and it is projected to grow to around JPY19.9 billion by 2025. In addition to this growth, many esports competitions have recently been held, accompanied by a rising number of professional esports teams.
national federations increased from 15.6% in 2018 to over 34% in 2025. Another significant development related to women’s sport in Japan is the “1252 Project”, promoted by the general incorporated association Never Stop Playing Sports. The initiative is led by several well-known and successful athletes, including Olympians, and tackles the issue of “female athletes and periods”, working collaboratively with top athletes and experts in edu - cation and medicine. The name “1252” reflects that female athletes are affected by menstrual periods for 12 of the 52 weeks in a year. In August 2024, the 1252 Project received an award from the Olympism 365 Innovation Hub – a collaboration between the IOC, Beyond Sport, and Women Win – recognising innova - tive and impactful approaches to sport for sustainable development. It was the only project selected from the Asian region. In addition, efforts are being made to eradicate cov - ert filming and photography of female athletes for the purpose of sexual harassment, thereby ensuring a safe environment in which athletes can focus on their performance. Seven sports organising bodies, includ - ing the JOC, the JSPO, the JPSA, and the JSC, are working together to address this issue. From a legal perspective, covert filming and photography are cur - rently regulated by ordinances established by each prefectural government. It is particularly notable that Fukuoka Prefecture has revised its ordinance to explicitly define the photo - graphing of a person’s posture or body parts with sexual intent and without consent – whether the per - son is clothed or not and whether at schools, sports facilities, public transport, or other locations – as sexual violence. Although no penalties are imposed, the purpose is to create a culture in which individuals can more easily call out suspicious behaviour by mak - ing the prohibition explicit and widely known. Follow - ing this revision, announcements warning attendees began at competition venues, and organisers also started implementing patrols.
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