Society

Over 20 percent in Japan open to esports as high school club activity, survey shows

Aug 25 (Japan Times) - Over 20 percent of the public in Japan accept esports as high school club activity, a recent Jiji Press opinion survey has shown.

Highly popular in the United States and other parts of the world, esports, a form of sport competition using computer games, is thriving in Japan as well, with dedicated facilities built across the country.

The survey showed a decrease in respondents rejecting the idea of including esports in extracurricular activity. The share of such respondents fell to 33.4 percent from 42.6 percent in the previous survey taken in April 2019.

Meanwhile, 22.7 percent said they accept esports clubs from high school, up from 18.9 percent. The number rose to 9.3 percent from 8.3 percent for those accepting esports clubs from junior high school and to 9.4 percent from 8.5 percent for those favoring such clubs from elementary school.

The total proportion of respondents accepting school esports clubs reached 41.4 percent, exceeding that of those against such clubs.

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