This roundtable brings together several leading scholars to examine Japanese sports through historical and sociological lenses. The discussion offers a dynamic look at how sports reflect and shape Japanese society by exploring themes from nationalism and identity to the cultural meanings of celebrity and disability.

Dr. Robin Kietlinski, historian, gender studies and Japanese studies scholar, opens the conversation with an exploration of sports in Japan’s modernization, from Meiji-era gender relations to Olympic environmentalism. Her insights frame sport as both a political tool and a symbol of national reinvention, with particular reference to female sporting figures and the sustainability movement.

Dr. Dennis Frost, historian of sports celebrities and disability games, discusses how athletes with disabilities and popular figures like Naomi Osaka challenge and expand Japan’s definitions of ability, identity, and representation. He will explore the legacy of the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics and the politics of inclusion in sport.

Finally, Dr. Aaron L. Miller, anthropologist of Japanese sports, delves into the everyday practices of sport in Japan—from high school baseball’s moral education to how athletes in “minor” sports like basketball approach their craft even as they struggle to attain “major sport” status. His ethnographic approach uncovers how values like endurance, hierarchy, and group belonging are embedded in sporting life and why Japanese use sports to maintain a sense of ethnic uniqueness.

NB: due to scheduling difficulties, Nakazawa Atsushi (Waseda) and Yamaguchi Ichirō (Mainichi Shinbun, retired) were unable to participate in the recording, but we thank them for their generous contributions to the planning of this episode.