(Yomiuri: February 21, 2015—p. 29)
In a recent nationwide mail-in public opinion survey conducted by the Yomiuri Shimbun to probe public attitudes on sports, many indicated they are looking forward to hosting the Olympic Games in Japan, such as the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2020, and excited about Sapporo’s candidacy to host the Winter Olympic Games. At the same time, there are also many voices hoping that the government and other public entities will stand behind athletes for their training. In the popularity ranking of athletes, Kei Nishikori, a professional tennis player who finished second in last year’s U.S. Open Tennis Championships, topped all other popular athletes active in the international arena.
Questions & answers (%)
Q: What sports do you like to watch? Pick as many as you like.
|
Professional baseball |
46 |
|
Major League (U.S. professional baseball) |
11 |
|
High school baseball |
46 |
|
College baseball |
2 |
|
Professional soccer |
31 |
|
Overseas professional soccer |
10 |
|
High school soccer |
10 |
|
Rugby |
6 |
|
Golf |
19 |
|
Marathons |
31 |
|
Ekiden (long-distance relay road race) |
42 |
|
Track and field events |
12 |
|
Gymnastics |
23 |
|
Competitive swimming |
16 |
|
Synchronized swimming |
6 |
|
Volleyball |
27 |
|
Tennis |
28 |
|
Table tennis |
10 |
|
Boxing |
18 |
|
Pro-wrestling |
6 |
|
Grand sumo tournaments |
28 |
|
Judo |
10 |
|
Kendo |
4 |
|
Motor sports (e.g., motor boat, airplane, 4-wheel automobile, motorcycle racing) |
7 |
|
Skiing, snowboarding |
11 |
|
Speed skating |
5 |
|
Figure skating |
50 |
|
Other answers (O/A) |
4 |
|
Nothing in particular (NIP) |
5 |
|
No answer (N/A) |
0 |
Q: Who’s your favorite athlete? Name up to three athletes, whether they are professional or amateur or Japanese or non-Japanese.
|
Ranking |
Name |
Sporting event or team: |
Votes |
|
|
1 |
|
Kei Nishikori |
Tennis |
272 |
|
2 |
|
Ichiro Suzuki |
MLB (Miami Marlins) |
218 |
|
3 |
|
Yuzuru Hanyu |
Figure skating |
152 |
|
4 |
|
Mao Asada |
Figure skating |
147 |
|
5 |
|
Shigeo Nagashima |
Yomiuri Giants lifetime honorary manager |
70 |
|
6 |
|
Masahiro Tanaka |
MLB (New York Yankees) |
52 |
|
7 |
|
Sadaharu Oh |
Baseball |
47 |
|
8 |
|
Keisuke Honda |
A.C. Milan, Italy |
42 |
|
9 |
|
Kohei Uchimura |
Gymnastics |
39 |
|
10 |
|
Hideki Matsui |
Baseball |
32 |
|
11 |
|
Hideki Matsuyama |
Golf |
31 |
|
12 |
|
Hakuho |
Sumo wrestling |
29 |
|
13 |
|
Shohei Otani |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
28 |
|
14 |
|
Yasuhito Endo |
Gamba Osaka |
27 |
|
|
|
Saori Kimura |
Volleyball |
27 |
|
16 |
|
Shinnosuke Abe |
Yomiuri Giants |
25 |
|
17 |
|
Hayato Sakamoto |
Yomiuri Giants |
22 |
|
|
|
Hideo Nomo |
Baseball |
22 |
|
19 |
|
Daisuke Takahashi |
Figure skating |
21 |
|
20 |
|
Kasumi Ishikawa |
Table tennis |
20 |
|
|
|
Kazuyoshi Miura |
Yokohama F.C. |
20 |
|
|
|
Lionel Messi |
FC Barcelona, Spain |
20 |
Q: What’s your favorite Japanese professional baseball team? If any, pick only one. (*Teams listed in the order of last season’s standings.)
|
Central League |
Pacific League |
||
|
Yomiuri Giants |
26 |
Fukuoka SoftBank Hawks |
5 |
|
Hanshin Tigers |
11 |
Orix Buffaloes |
0 |
|
Hiroshima Carp |
3 |
Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters |
4 |
|
Chunichi Dragons |
3 |
Chiba Lotte Marines |
1 |
|
Yokohama DeNA BayStars |
2 |
Saitama Seibu Lions |
2 |
|
Yakult Swallows |
1 |
Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles |
4 |
|
Interested but no favorite team |
12 |
||
|
Not interested |
|||
|
N/A |
3 |
||
Q: (Only for those who gave the name of a team to the foregoing question) Why? Pick as many reasons as you like.
|
Because my favorite player is (was) on the team |
32 |
|
Because I like its manager |
12 |
|
Because it’s strong |
11 |
|
Because it’s a rising team |
8 |
|
Because it’s a team playing in my local community or hometown |
32 |
|
Because it’s a team that has been around for years |
16 |
|
Because it’s always been my favorite team |
43 |
|
Because it’s my family’s or my friend’s favorite team |
16 |
|
O/A |
4 |
|
N/A |
2 |
Q: What do you hope for from professional baseball now? Pick as many as you like.
|
Exciting play |
43 |
|
Shorter games |
12 |
|
National star players |
25 |
|
Better fan service, more ballpark facilities |
15 |
|
More international games |
10 |
|
More games with non-professional teams |
7 |
|
Active trades from team to team |
6 |
|
A new draft system to better reflect players’ hopes |
18 |
|
Extended telecasts |
21 |
|
O/A |
2 |
|
NIP |
23 |
|
N/A |
3 |
Q: Tokyo will host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the summer of 2020. Are you interested in the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics?
|
Very interested |
38 |
|
Somewhat interested |
45 |
|
Not very interested |
13 |
|
Not interested at all |
4 |
|
N/A |
1 |
Q: In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Tokyo, as its host, is vested with the right to propose additional sporting events. What would you like to be added among those that were considered as additional sports for the Olympic Games in the past but are currently not included? Pick only one from among those listed below.
|
Baseball, softball |
68 |
|
Karate |
6 |
|
Roller sports |
1 |
|
Squash |
2 |
|
Wakeboarding |
1 |
|
Martial arts |
1 |
|
Sportrock climbing |
1 |
|
NIP |
20 |
|
N/A |
2 |
Q: Ahead of hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics, the government is aiming to establish a “Sports Agency” for sports administration for such purposes as training athletes and promoting sports. What would you like the Sports Agency to do in particular? Pick up to three from among those listed below.
|
Train top athletes |
43 |
|
Activate sports associations |
24 |
|
Support school physical education, sports club activities |
26 |
|
Support off-school club activities |
11 |
|
Spread lifetime sports |
20 |
|
Spread sports for the handicapped |
20 |
|
Promote public health, improve physical strength |
20 |
|
Invite international events, promote international exchanges through sports |
21 |
|
Prevent scandals in the sporting world |
12 |
|
O/A |
0 |
|
NIP |
10 |
|
N/A |
2 |
Q: The city of Sapporo has announced its candidacy to host the 2026 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games. Do you approve of Sapporo’s hosting the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games?
|
Yes |
85 |
|
No |
11 |
|
N/A |
4 |
Polling methodology: A total of 3,000 persons were chosen from among all eligible voters throughout the country (at 250 locations on a stratified two-stage random-sampling basis). The questionnaire was sent out on Jan. 14 to those chosen for the survey and was sent back from 2,044 persons by Feb. 16. Valid answers were obtained from 1,975 persons (66%), excluding answers from those not subject to the survey.
Breakdown of respondents: Male—51%, female—49%; persons in their 20s—10%, 30s—15%, 40s—19%, 50s—16%, 60s—20%, 70 and over—20%.
(Note) In some cases, the total percentage does not add up to 100% due to rounding. "0" denotes percentages less than 0.5%. (Abridged)
