The Japan Sports Agency promotes many initiatives to revitalize regional communities through sport particularly focusing on supporting initiatives to promote outdoor sports. The JSA views the promotion of outdoor sports will create various positive effects on people and society beyond the boundaries of sport for the following three reasons.

(1)
Outdoor sport provides a rich way to spend time (changing lives through sport!)
There are a variety of outdoor sports people can enjoy irrespective of their age and physical ability. By taking safety into consideration, the individual can choose a sport that corresponds to their level without having to learn complicated techniques and rules. It is my hope that experiencing the joy and feel of moving one’s body outside in nature will promote the expansion of people enjoying a healthy lifestyle through sport.

(2)
Outdoor sport revitalizes communities (changing society through sport!)
The best environment to enjoy outdoor sports is in rural areas. The promotion of outdoor sport will further expand exchange in rural areas, and lead to the revitalization of regional communities. People who visit regional areas also enjoy eating and touring the area. The promotion of outdoor sport will thus, also help revitalize a wide range of industries through increasing consumption in travel, clothing and goods. I hope many people will travel to enjoy outdoor sport which utilizes the region’s unique environment.

(3)
Outdoor sport links communities to the world (bringing the world together through sport!)
Many foreigners are very interested in Japan’s natural environment which boasts a world-class rich natural landscape with seasonal changes. Japan is famous for its high-quality powder snow, its more-than 6,000 islands across the nation, and its steep mountainous ranges.
As such, the promotion of outdoor sport will help promote the government’s initiative which strives to expand the number of foreign visitors to Japan, and help promote exchanges with the global community.
The promotion of outdoor sport will make people’s lives richer and healthier. It will revitalize regional communities and industries, and lure tourists from all over the world to visit Japan. I hope this initiative will utilize the allure of regional communities to help inspire the entire nation. Sport is not limited to competitions which raises a person’s heartrate, or individuals challenging themselves to the limit. The roots of the word “sport” stem from “deportare” meaning “pastime”. Sport essentially aims to share and enjoy physical activity out in nature with family and friends.
Japan has a rich environment where all regions equally have mountains, rivers, lakes and seas. The Japan Sports Agency supports efforts by regional communities utilizing the nature particular to their communities to actively promote regional revitalization. The JSA will promote outdoor sports by widely disseminating the allure of regional communities so that more people visit rural areas and enjoy sports.