Japan’s skateboarding scene evolves after Tokyo Games

Tokyo (Jiji Press) — Japan’s skateboarding scene has developed tremendously since Tokyo hosted the 2021 Olympic Games, with public perception of the sport and training environments improving.

“The number of people who understand skateboarding has increased,” said Yuto Horigome, the gold medalist in the men’s street event at the Tokyo Games. “Japan has become a country that attracts worldwide attention.”

Although Japan has many top skateboarders, public opinion of skateboarding used to be negative, partly because of the impression people left in public places. But this changed after the Tokyo Games, when skateboarding made its Olympic debut.

“Previously, news reports (about skateboarding) meant something bad. Now it’s in a positive sense,” said an official at sports equipment maker Murasaki Sports Co., which has long supported skateboarding.

Images of athletes cheering each other on after defeats at the Tokyo Games struck a chord with the Japanese public.

In 2022, the US-born X Games action sports tournament was held in Japan for the first time, attracting 40,000 people over three days. Japan was then selected for the first time to host the Street League Skateboarding, a world-class competition series, and last year’s Street World Championship.

According to American skateboarder Nyjah Huston, the Japanese skateboarding scene has grown rapidly, probably because the country hosted the Olympic Games.

After the Olympics, new skateboard parks are being built in Japan. Murasaki Sports opened an indoor, air-conditioned park in Tachikawa, Tokyo, last summer, and a large facility opened in the LaLaport shopping mall in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, western Japan, this spring.

Top Japanese skateboarders visit both facilities to practice, allowing many casual skateboarders to see their skills up close.

Regarding the growing number of skateboarders, Takashi Nishikawa, head coach of the Japanese national team, said that “many communities have become increasingly eager to produce Olympic athletes over the past three years.”

Of the 10 Japanese athletes selected for the Paris Olympics later this month, only one is from Tokyo. Liz Akama and Hinano Kusaki, both making their Olympic debuts in Paris, have been training at their local skateboard parks to become top-class athletes.

If Japanese skateboarders win as many medals in Paris as they did in Tokyo, the sport will likely become even more popular among children across the country.