Comprehensive Sport Clubs

Comprehensive sport clubs are expected as a place for sports activities familiar to local residents to realize a sports society for life at an early stage, where anyone can become familiar with sports at any time and in any place, depending on each physical strength, age, skill, interest, and objective.

As part of the "Basic Plan for the Promotion of Sports," devised by the national government (Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology) in 2000, the aim has been advocated to "foster at least one comprehensive sport club in each municipality throughout Japan within a ten-year period" as an important measure for maintaining a sports environment in the area, and the Japan Sports Association has come to develop club foundation support enterprises and club activity support enterprises by assisting sports promotion lotteries since 2002 as well as club fostering model district enterprises that focus on sports youth groups since 1997.

Since 2004, the Japan Sports Association has been expanding and promoting the "Enterprise of Fostering and Promotion of comprehensive Sport Clubs" nationwide as a newly commissioned enterprise by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, and making use of the expertise it has cultivated thus far, it is assisting in efforts toward the independent foundation of comprehensive clubs by local residents, based on close cooperation and collaboration with prefectural and municipal sports associations.

In the Japan Sports Association, prefectural sport club fostering committees have been organized that carry out the basic policies of prefectural fostering, and central planning teams have been organized to carry out the practical project drafting of each enterprise under the committee. Furthermore, local planning teams have been organized in six blocks throughout Japan, which conduct market surveys and information gathering for existing comprehensive clubs, in addition to instructing and advising clubs specified for fostering.

Furthermore, prefectural sports associations are arranging the commission of club fostering advisors who have expertise in fostering clubs, and have been actively engaged in the supporting foundation of clubs by local residents rooted in the area, such as scouting out groups that aim to become clubs in the future in addition to educating municipal and local residents rather than simply instructing and advising clubs designated for fostering. (Below is a diagram)