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Sports mega-events, like the Rugby World Cup, are often considered as a major platform for the celebration and reinforcement of nationalism. However, there is an emerging strand of research which contends that the host nations are increasingly presenting themselves with diverse, inclusive and cosmopolitan characteristics and, in turn, forms of nationalism have undergone some noticeable changes in more recent times. In this paper, we pursue an argument that Japan as the host of the 2019 Rugby World Cup projected the nation with a cosmopolitan outlook ultimately to sustain or even strengthen national interest and identity through the process of 'cosmopolitan nationalism'. Methodologically, the research deployed critical discourse analysis to examine media representations of Japan as the host nation in general, and its national team in particular, within one of the leading Japanese newspapers as well as a range of other publicly available resources and materials in relation to the Rugby World Cup. In result, the study reveals the ways in which the discourse of 'One Team', embracement of foreignness and incidents of international exchanges during the event were mobilised to generate 'thin' cosmopolitan moments and, at the same time, were incorporated into the narratives of Japan's success on the world stage through conditional acceptance of foreignness and diversity. Consequently, this paper offers both a theoretical underpinning for and empirical evidence of the emerging linkage between sports mega-events and cosmopolitan nationalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As an attempt to address the paucity of research on sport in Asian settings, this paper uses a case-study approach to examine young Japanese men's participation in pre-game rugby rituals. Drawing on Durkheim's seminal work, it is argued that the pre-game ceremonies have much in common with rituals conducted in similar western settings. However, many of the ritual activities were performed in distinctly Japanese ways, suggesting that they also express and confirm dominant local values and mark rugby as a discrete cultural practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this paper is to clarify the longitudinal trend on sport involvement of Japanese female adults after World War II and to consider the factors that have influenced it from a sociological perspective, based on an analysis of the relevant literatures. The rate of females' primary sport involvement is lower than that of males at any period. This trend is related to traditional Japanese gender role and females' life cycle. In the period from the end of the war to the 1950s, the greater part of female adults had no opportunities to engage in sports. The number of female sport participants increased remarkably in the 1960s. This trend continued in the I970s, however, the rate of increase was quite low, and that has not changed in the 1980s. Some factors that influenced sport involvement of female adults were indicated: a rise in the standard of living by economic growth, an increase in leisure time, the completion of the conditions needed for sports, a change in gender role and a change in women's life cycle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper documents the important role of Western-style professional wrestling in the popular culture of Japan, focusing on the early years in which it was established, 1953-1963. These were also the years in which television achieved its phenomenal growth, and the symbiotic relationship between the "sport" and the medium is explored. The star of professional wrestling in Japan during these years was the former sumo wrestler Rikidôzan. He faced a steady stream of foreign wrestlers, mainly from America. The fact that he was actually of Korean origins was a well kept secret. It is shown that the great popularity of professional wrestling in Japan is related to its embracing of a powerful theme: Japan against the world, the West, America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper compares the process of adolescent socialization into sport in Japan and Canada, focussing on the structural and cultural differences and similarities. Results from national survey data indicate that the school is a strong socializing agent in Japan, while the sport system within the community has more influence on sport involvement in Canada. It is suggested that sport socialization in Japan is unique in that it arises from a closed structure, as compared to the open structure in Canada. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]