Project Launched in Japan to Keep Children in Sports

Tokyo, Sept. 3 (Jiji Press)–Japan’s national sports governing bodies for soccer, basketball, handball, rugby and rubber-ball baseball and the Japan Sport Association have launched a project to promote sports participation among children. The project, unveiled Wednesday, plans to hold events where children can try multiple sports, as well as facilitate exchanges and training programs for coaches that transcend the boundaries of individual sports. “I hope for a future where children have many options and can enjoy sports,” Tsuneyasu Miyamoto, president of the Japan Football Association, said at a press conference in Tokyo on the same day. In recent years, the sports environment for children in Japan has changed with the shrinking child population and the transition of school athletic club activities to local communities. Amid growing concerns over a decrease in children’s participation in sports, the organizations have united to keep children interested in sports instead of focusing solely on boosting the number of players in their respective sports. The project aims to attract more sports associations to the initiative in the future. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]