Sports practice in Japan and France: A comparative analysis

This article aimed to compare the sports participation of populations from two distinct societies with huge cultural differences: France and Japan. At a macro-statistical level and using a societal approach based on two national ad-hoc surveys–in contrast with functionalist and culturalist analyses–it analysed the differences in sports participation between the two populations. The angle adopted for analysing sports participation was that of voraciousness (number and types of sports and physical activities practised). We performed a secondary analysis of a Japanese national ad-hoc survey and a French national ad-hoc survey (quotas sampling, June/July 2016), which reported activities precisely over the preceding 12 months. The two reconstructed samples for comparison concerned people aged between 18 and 70, and 46 PSAs and PSA families, making it possible to evaluate sports participation. The Japanese sample consisted of 2,612 individuals and the French sample of 3,791 individuals. To identify statistically significant differences between the two samples, Fisher’s exact test and bootstrap approaches was used (boot package in R software). Sports participation and voraciousness for sport are higher in the French population than in the Japanese one. For the overall rate of sports practice, there is a difference of 8.2 points (95%CI[6.0;10.3], p<0.001), and the difference concerning the average number of activities practised by practitioners is 1.7 activity (95%CI[1.9;1.5], p<0.001). In both countries, young males have the highest level of sportiness. Age is an important variable with a lower difference between the youngest and oldest age groups for sports participation in Japan than in France: when compared to France, the difference in difference for the rate of no activity is 13.7 points (95%CI[6.3;21.1], p<0.001) and -2.3 activities for the average number of activities among practitioners (95%CI[-3.0;-1.7], p<0.001). Some physical and sports activities (PSAs) are specific to France (e.g. skiing with 12.7 points difference, 95%CI[11.3;14.1], p<0.001) and others to Japan, such as baseball (with 9.8 points difference 95%CI[8.6;11.0], p<0.001) or more traditional PSAs like Japanese calisthenics and radio exercise (at 15.9%). In contrast to France, Japan is still in the process of greatly modernising its sporting tradition as a result of its particular cultural dimensions. We can identify physical and sports activities which are specific to each country, as well as similar activities in the two countries and wider diversification in France. Voraciousness for sport is higher in France than in Japan. In both countries, the youngest age groups and men have the highest level of sportiness. Yet, the difference between the youngest and the oldest group is smaller in Japan due to the pressure of work.