CHAPTER4 IMPROVING INTERNATIONA LCOMPETITIVENESS AND PROMOTING INTERNATIONAL SPORTS EXCHANGE
SECTION2: TOWARD THE IMPROVEMENT OF INTERNATIONALCOMPETITIVENESS
5. Support Toward Projects for the Improvement of Competitiveness
Both the Japan Amateur Sports Association and the Japanese Olympic Committee(JOC)play an important role in the promotion of sports in Japan.The Japan Amateur Sports Association has the main responsibility of promoting public sports,and the JOC of improving international competitiveness.MESSC subsidizes various projects to improve sports ability undertaken jointly by either organization together with central sports associations.MESSC provides national subsidies to the Japan Amateur Sports Association for the following:1)projects for the cultivation of sports instructors,2)projects for the development of Junior-level atbletes,3)surveys and research in sports medicine and science,and4)projects for spotts exchange within the Asian region.It also provides national subsidies to the JOC for the following:1)projects to strengthen athletes,such as holding intensive training camps,2)international exchange projects,such as sending teams to the Olympic Games,Asian Games and other international competitions,and3)projects for foreign study and training for instructors,in which young instructors are sent abroad for an extended period.The Sports Promotion Fund(see p.47),established in December199O at the National Stadium and School Health Center of Japan,also plays an important role in the promotion of sports in Japan by providing assistance in such areas as activities to strengthen athletes undertaken by sports associations,the hosting of competitions on a national and international scale,and the sports activities of athletes and instructors.
