2020.08.12
The Japan Sports Agency held "The 3rd Pub-con: What If You Were the Commissioner of the Japan Sports Agency?" to solicit ideas and videos for increasing the public's participation rate in sports, receiving a large number of entries: 408 in the business plan division and 113 in the video division.
From among these entries, Kanako Kikuchi, a second-year master's student in the Major in Public Health, Sport and Health Sciences, won an Excellence Award in the business plan division. In the video division, Dongfang Hong and Takahiro Arai, second-year master's students in the Major in Public Health, Sport and Health Sciences, and Tao Yu, a first-year student in the Ph.D. program in the Major in Public Health, Sport and Health Sciences, won an Excellence Award as the TDT team.
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Award Winners' Comments
Kanako Kikuchi
For this competition, I proposed a business plan to increase the public's sports participation rate, using the keyword "while you're at it." I felt the difficulty of creating a highly feasible business plan, but I also strongly sensed the great potential from the infinite combinations of "sports x something." I believe that people's lives will become richer as sports become an integrated and familiar part of daily life.
Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, we now need to face infectious disease control measures over the medium to long term as part of a "new lifestyle." In this situation, the importance of sports for maintaining not only physical but also mental health is being reaffirmed. The ways we approach and engage in sports will likely become even more free and diverse than before. I feel that the ideal society is one where many people have a platform to freely conceive and propose "sports x something" and can enjoy a fun sporting life. As someone who specializes in studying physical activity and health, I will proactively contribute to this cause.
Dongfang Hong
People's health status, referred to as an "intangible asset," is thought to require daily accumulation, just like tangible assets such as cash and housing. With the accumulation of tangible assets, for example, you can see your savings balance gradually increasing, and knowing the "effect" of saving likely motivates you to continue the habit. However, for the average person, the accumulation of intangible assets (health improvement), such as the effects of sports, is not clearly visible, so I think many people find it difficult to sustain. Therefore, what I wanted to challenge in this video was how to make the value of sports visible. In the future, I believe that by visualizing health data, we can encourage changes in individual awareness and behavior toward health promotion, and we can expect health promotion effects at the national level.
Takahiro Arai
The ancient Roman philosopher Cicero, in his work "De Senectute" (On Old Age) (44 BC), stated that "health" is a reward not only for the body but also for the spirit and mind. Sports (including not only exercise but also activities of daily living) are naturally important for forming the invisible "intangible asset" that secures future physical activity. In addition, they are closely related to human relationships and social activities and are believed to have a positive effect on the spirit and mind. In other words, sports can sometimes generate unexpected "compound interest."
In this work, we also focused on the aspect of human relationships at the office, depicting a success story of gaining social and mental connections with colleagues and presenting a better way to be healthy.
As the nature of social activities changes drastically amid the COVID-19 pandemic, let's improve both our minds and bodies through sports in our own way.
Tao Yu
The numerical target for sports participation in Japan is set at approximately 65% of adults (approximately 40% for people with disabilities) participating in sports at least once a week (Second Basic Plan for Sport). Currently, according to the "Public Opinion Poll on Sports Participation and Other Matters" (2019) conducted by the Japan Sports Agency, the sports participation rate for adults in Japan is about 50%.
While physical inactivity is a concern for various health risks at each life stage, I believe that as a population approach, if everyone engages in a little physical activity (e.g., 10 minutes), the average for the group will certainly increase, and the effects of physical activity can be expected at the national level. However, modern life is very busy, and it seems difficult to incorporate sports into our lives. Therefore, it may be important to "replace" current work or lifestyle habits, or to engage in "multitasking sports" in parallel with what we are already doing.
I will continue to advance effective and beneficial proposals and research to improve the sports participation rate.