JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Atsushi Igarashi, Yoichiro Kuriyama, Misa Takahashi and Kosuke Ojio, TMI Associates
JPY16.2 billion in 2023 and is expected to grow to approximately JPY21.7 billion in 2025. Many esports competitions have been held recently with increasing numbers of professional esports teams. Guidelines and manuals have been devel - oped by the Japan Esports Union (the “JeSU” ) and several legal issues relating to esports com - petitions with prizes and/or participation fees have been clarified to a certain extent. Esports are characterised by the ability to com - pete remotely and can therefore hold compe - titions while maintaining physical distance, which makes them uniquely suited to an online format. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic, some events were held online without a reduc - tion in their size. In addition, esports have been embraced by traditional sports players, as these players can easily play esports titles and organ - ise esports competitions. Children have recently become interested in esports and the number of young esports play - ers is increasing. As a result, it has become necessary to consider the effects of esports on children’s health (eg, gaming disorders and gam - ing addiction) and to think of ways to improve the environment for young esports players. In March 2020, a local authority enacted Japan’s first ordinance aimed at reducing internet and video game addiction among young people, which recommends that guardians ensure chil - dren under the age of 18 play computer games for a maximum of 60 minutes per day and turn their smartphones off by 9pm, in principle. In response, certain residents filed lawsuits alleging violations of human rights such as the freedom to play games and the right to enjoy esports under the Constitution of Japan. The District Court, however, dismissed their claims, finding that the ordinance did not impose any
specific restrictions on their rights and did not violate the Constitution on the grounds that the act of enjoying esports could be said to be mere - ly a hobby or a preference. On 11 June 2024, the JeSU was approved as a provisional member of the JOC until March 2027. Esports has been confirmed as an official event for the 20th Asian Games, scheduled to be held in Aichi-Nagoya in 2026, following its inclu - sion in the previous edition. The JeSU will serve as the governing body for esports. 10. NFTs, AI and the Metaverse 10.1 Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) Non-fungible token (NFT) markets have emerged and been developed around the world since 2021, with NFT businesses also commencing in various industries in Japan in the spring of 2021. Several NFT markets have also launched in Japan, with an initial surge in NFT issuances, particularly in the arts, gaming and talent-related industries. In the field of sports, several profes - sional baseball, soccer, and basketball leagues and teams and a women’s professional wrestling organisation have launched licensed games and trading card services, etc, using NFTs. Some sports teams have also begun issuing “fan tokens” using blockchain technology as a new source of funding. NFTs therefore have the potential to become a new revenue source for both teams and leagues. However, as NFTs are traded on the market for an unspecified period of time by an unspecified number of people, rights clearance becomes an issue. Proper clearing and agreement must be reached among all parties involved, includ - ing players, teams, issuers and purchasers. The
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