The most popular sports in Japan 日本で人気のスポーツ

top sports

 

According to a recent survey of the Japanese population, it emerged that the most popular sports were pretty much the same for everyone. The men preferred baseball first, football second, and then tennis. Among women, figure skating took the lead, followed by baseball and tennis.

 

 

THE other land of baseball

As we can see, baseball wins all the votes. After the introduction of this sport by the Americans in the Meiji era (1868-1912), it became almost the national sport, especially among young people who practice it a lot. Matches are broadcast on television all year round, closely followed by all segments of the population. All Japanese high schools have their team and the summer tournament (an equivalent to NCAA men's basketball tournament) unleashes their passions to support their teams! 

Read: Baseball in Japan

 

Un batting center à Tokyo

Individual boxes allow you to have fun in complete safety

wikimedia

Shoma Uno (médaille d'argent) à gauche, Yuzuru Hanyu (médaille d'or) au centre et Javier Fernandez (médaille de bronze) à droite.

Shoma Uno (silver medal) on the left, Yuzuru Hanyu (gold medal) in the center and Javier Fernandez (bronze medal) on the right.

andy miah

 

The child of the ball

Finally, we must not forget tennis, which is not at all a traditional Japanese sport. But a few seasons ago a great champion emerged, his name is Kei Nishikori. His ranking in the top 10 of the best players in the world has developed an audience for the sport. He even became the face of the Japanese clothing brand UNIQLO and spearheaded Japanese sport around the world.

To go further: Japanese sports

 

Le champion de tennis Kei Nishikori

Tennis champion Kei Nishikori

FlickrKeith Allison

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