Weekly participation in sports among adults FY 2023, by frequency

According to a survey conducted in November 2023, 52.1 percent of adult respondents in Japan participated in sports at least once a week during the past year. About 27 percent of adults were doing sports at least twice a week during that period. Sports promotionJapan is one of the countries with the highest life expectancy at birth. In 2020, the estimated life span at birth in Japan increased for nine consecutive years to 84.56 years. Annual medical expenditure of citizens also represented a continuous growth in recent years. To prevent a further rise in medical expenditure and maintain the health and longevity of people, the government considers it essential to improve the participation rate in sports. In the Sports Fundamental Scheme announced in 2017, the government stated the goal of reaching 65 percent for once-a-week sports participation of the nation by the end of 2021. Walking for exerciseFor both female and male Japanese adults, the most popular type of physical exercise has continued to be walking, with over 60 percent of respondents participating in the activity in 2019. The Japanese government has been promoting walking as one of the most efficient and easy-to-do exercises in modern Japanese society. The average number of steps taken in a day by citizens in Japan has remained flat at around seven thousand for men and six thousand for women in the last decade. The health ministry has set a goal to increase the number of steps of people aged from 20 to 64 years to nine thousand for men and 8,500 for women by 2022 – through the FUN+Walk promotion project. The project mainly targets people who are employed and have less time to exercise and suggests engaging more in walking during commutes and in daily routines.

根据2023年11月进行的一项调查，在过去的一年中，日本成年人中有52.1%至少每周参加一次体育活动。在该期间，约有27%的成年人每周至少进行两次体育活动。鉴于日本是全球人均预期寿命最高的国家之一，为了防止医疗支出进一步增加，并维持人民的健康与长寿，政府认为提高体育活动参与率至关重要。在2017年发布的《体育基本计划》中，政府宣布了到2021年底全国每周至少参加一次体育活动的目标达到65%。就女性和男性日本成年人而言，最流行的体育锻炼方式持续为步行，2019年有超过60%的受访者参与了此项活动。日本政府一直将步行推广为现代日本社会中最有效且易于实施的锻炼方式之一。在过去十年中，日本公民每天的步数平均保持在男性约七千步、女性约六千步的水平。厚生劳动省设定了一个目标，即通过“FUN+Walk”推广项目，到2022年将20至64岁人群的步数从男性九千步、女性八千五百步增加至男性一万步、女性九千五百步。该项目主要针对工作繁忙、锻炼时间较少的人群，建议在上下班途中及日常生活中增加步行时间。