New JSFD article published on 'sport for development' in Japan

Although the field of sport for development (SfD) has been progressing in the international community for some time, the Japanese government only recently began looking for ways to contribute to the field during Tokyo’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

This commentary firstly examines Japan’s scant experience with SfD prior to the Olympic bid made in 2013, although most of such activities were dominated by sport development (SD) programmes mainly in developing countries.

Secondly, the paper examines the background against which ‘Sport for Tomorrow' (SFT) was launched in Japan, and the environment in which SFT exists. Finally, the issues currently facing SfD in Japan are enumerated and actions that can be taken to ensure SfD survives in Japan after 2020 are examined.