Weekly participation in sports among adults FY 2024, by frequency

According to a survey conducted in November 2024 in Japan, **** percent of adult respondents participated in sports at least five times a week during the past year. About **** percent of adults did no sports at all during that period.

Sports promotion

Japan is one of the countries with the highest life expectancy at birth. In 2022, the estimated life span at birth in Japan amounted to ** 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.

Walking for exercise

For both female and male Japanese adults, the most popular type of physical exercise has continued to be walking, with over ** percent of respondents participating in the activity in 2024. 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 ***** for men and ***** for women in the last decade.