Latest news with #Koshien
The Mainichi
20-07-2025
- Sport
- The Mainichi
Japan high school baseball team banned from smiling, waving in tourney entrance march
HIROSAKI, Aomori -- A high school baseball team that smiled and waved as they marched during the summer 2024 Aomori Prefecture tournament's opening ceremony had to abandon doing the same this year as the prefectural baseball federation asked the players to follow tradition. High school baseball regional tournaments are underway across Japan, vying for a spot in the National High School Baseball Championship, commonly known as "Koshien." Typically, players march in orderly fashion during the opening ceremony. Last summer, however, one team walked with their caps off and smiled and waved in a regional tourney, drawing attention for its unconventional approach. This summer, this marching style was scrapped, reflecting a struggle between maintaining tradition and adapting to modern times. 'Military-style march doesn't suit us' Ahead of the Aomori Prefecture tournament's opening ceremony on July 11, the Aomori High School Baseball Federation asked member schools this spring to refrain from waving and other such actions during the march. This decision was influenced by Hirosaki Gakuin Seiai High School's free-style march in last summer's Aomori Prefecture tournament opening ceremony like in the Olympic Games. Manager Kazunori Harada of the school expressed dissatisfaction, saying, "I don't agree with some aspects, but as we've been told no, we have to comply." Last summer, the team's uniforms, emblazoned with "Seiai" on the chest, drew spectators' attention. As their school name was announced at the stadium, players smiled, waved and held their caps aloft. They were the only team among 48 participants to do so. Traditionally, high school baseball entrance marches feature synchronized arm and leg movements with a crisp "one-two" cadence. Harada, who has led the team since 2001, said that he had felt uneasy about this custom. "It's strange to march with furrowed brows and loud voices only in high school baseball. This is an era of diversity, and we as a Christian school have promoted peace education. A military-style march doesn't suit us, and the style in the Olympics, a symbol of peace, seems appropriate," Harada commented. When the manager proposed the idea to the students before the 2023 summer Aomori Prefecture tournament, many agreed. Although bad weather canceled the entrance march that year, it was realized for the first time in 2024. Reflecting on the experience, former captain Kosuke Kida, now playing for Chuo Gakuin University's baseball team in Chiba Prefecture, said, "I was worried about how it would be perceived, but Seiai's baseball club is about trying new things. We felt we were the only ones who could bring a fresh breeze." The closing ceremony march was similar. Despite narrowly losing to Aomori Yamada High School in the final decided by one run and missing out on a spot at Koshien, the members smiled and waved in the march, aiming to be "good losers," according to Kida. They apparently intended to refrain from waving if they had won, considering it might upset their opponents. Hirosaki Gakuin Seiai's free-spirited march gained attention on social media and in the media. Manager Harada said, "I later learned from an article that the players had no intention of waving if they won. We lost the game, but I was proud of those players (who had such thoughts)." March began with a military band's tune The entrance march at the summer National High School Baseball Championship began during the third edition in 1917, held at Naruo Stadium in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture. According to tournament history, the march was inspired by the Olympics and the third Far Eastern Championship Games' opening ceremony in Tokyo in May 1917. Records show that high school players "marched to the music played by the 4th Division's military band and lined up." Over more than a century since then, the orderly style has become established. During this time, some changes have been made by the tournament organizers to reflect the times. Since the 31st tournament in 1949, only female students from Nishinomiya Municipal Nishinomiya High School had served as "ceremonial guides" leading players with placards at the summer Koshien opening ceremony. Starting from the 105th commemorative tournament in 2023, this role has been open to both genders. In other sports, unique entrance marches rich in local color have emerged, such as teams carrying apples or performing Awa Odori dances at the opening ceremony of the All Japan High School Soccer Tournament, which is held between late December and mid-January. 'Preserving traditional marches is also necessary' Following last summer's regional tournament, the Aomori High School Baseball Federation sought opinions from member schools on entrance march behavior. Kosei Tamakuma, chairperson of the prefectural federation, decided this spring to prioritize tradition. He commented, "Most opinions from member schools were that they should follow the usual way or emulate the Koshien tournament. Considering these opinions, I asked member schools not to march (in an unconventional manner) this summer." He added, "There is no definitive answer (to how entrance marches should be), but as things change with the times, preserving (traditional marches) is also necessary." At the spring 2024 "Senbatsu" invitational high school baseball tournament, Hachinohe Gakuin Kosei High School from Aomori Prefecture played in the opening game, and Tamakuma, who accompanied the team, witnessed the opening ceremony and entrance march up close. He said that he was moved by the solemn scene, saying, "Even as times change, this has been passed down for decades. I never had this awareness before, but standing on the same level, I felt it for the first time. Personally, I think there are people working hard to preserve this, and it's not something that should be easily terminated." Following the prefectural federation's policy for this summer's entrance march, Harada commented, "I don't intend to disrespect past marches, and I believe it's OK to have many ways to do it. Personally, given the decline in baseball participation, I think we should evolve to preserve what we inherited from our predecessors. I want to continue building a team that tries new things."
Japan Today
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Japan Today
Global warming may stop summer school sports in Japan from 2060s
Outdoor school sporting activity may need to be avoided between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August by the 2060s. Without serious efforts to tackle global warming, students in the 2060s or later may no longer be able to engage in extracurricular outdoor sports in summer in most parts of Japan, according to predictions by a research team. In the most pessimistic global warming scenario, the team's heat stress projections showed all or intense outdoor sporting activity would need to be avoided for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August in areas apart from the northern main island of Hokkaido. In Japan, extracurricular activities normally take place in the late afternoon, though the situation may differ during the summer vacation period. The team from the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University in Tokyo created a projection model based on weather data including temperature and humidity as well as a measure of heat stress called the wet-bulb globe temperature, which takes into account factors such as wind and solar radiation, in 842 cities in Japan over a 12-year period. It predicted hourly WBGT heat stress figures in 11 areas across the nation from the 2060s and 2080s, according to scenarios such as when greenhouse gas emissions are drastically cut as well as when emissions are not reduced because of a high dependence on fossil fuels. In the most pessimistic of cases of global warming, the projected reading was 31 or more, meaning outside sporting activity should be avoided in principle under the country's guidelines, in four regions, covering Shikoku, northern and southern Kyushu, and Okinawa, for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August. A heat stress index at or above 31 roughly corresponds to 35 C or higher in air temperature. Six areas, from Tohoku to Chugoku, had readings between 28 and 31, meaning intense sporting activity should be avoided. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., none of the regions had figures of 31 or above, but the projections showed intense sports should be avoided in the same hours in August in all regions apart from Hokkaido. Takahiro Oyama, researcher at the institute's Center for Climate Change Adaptation, said the results were indicative of how people's daily lives will change as global warming progresses. "We need to start thinking about how future club activities should be." The annual Koshien national high school baseball tournament has already adopted a two-session system to reduce the negative impact of the summer heat, dividing some of the schedule into morning and late afternoon games. If the warming of the planet continues, it could affect more than just school sports, leading to time and venue changes, experts said. © KYODO
Kyodo News
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Kyodo News
Global warming may stop summertime school sports in Japan from 2060s
KYODO NEWS - 9 hours ago - 11:06 | Japan, All Without serious efforts to tackle global warming, students in the 2060s or later may no longer be able to engage in extracurricular outdoor sports in summer in most parts of Japan, according to predictions by a research team. In the most pessimistic global warming scenario, the team's heat stress projections showed all or intense outdoor sporting activity would need to be avoided for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August in areas apart from the northern main island of Hokkaido. In Japan, extracurricular activities normally take place in the late afternoon, though the situation may differ during the summer vacation period. The team from the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University in Tokyo created a projection model based on weather data including temperature and humidity as well as a measure of heat stress called the wet-bulb globe temperature, which takes into account factors such as wind and solar radiation, in 842 cities in Japan over a 12-year period. It predicted hourly WBGT heat stress figures in 11 areas across the nation from the 2060s and 2080s, according to scenarios such as when greenhouse gas emissions are drastically cut as well as when emissions are not reduced because of a high dependence on fossil fuels. In the most pessimistic of cases of global warming, the projected reading was 31 or more, meaning outside sporting activity should be avoided in principle under the country's guidelines, in four regions, covering Shikoku, northern and southern Kyushu, and Okinawa, for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August. A heat stress index at or above 31 roughly corresponds to 35 C or higher in air temperature. Six areas, from Tohoku to Chugoku, had readings between 28 and 31, meaning intense sporting activity should be avoided. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., none of the regions had figures of 31 or above, but the projections showed intense sports should be avoided in the same hours in August in all regions apart from Hokkaido. Takahiro Oyama, researcher at the institute's Center for Climate Change Adaptation, said the results were indicative of how people's daily lives will change as global warming progresses. "We need to start thinking about how future club activities should be." The annual Koshien national high school baseball tournament has already adopted a two-session system to reduce the negative impact of the summer heat, dividing some of the schedule into morning and late afternoon games. If the warming of the planet continues, it could affect more than just school sports, leading to time and venue changes, experts said. Related coverage: Japan logs its hottest year on record in 2024 for 2nd straight year
Kyodo News
29-04-2025
- Climate
- Kyodo News
Global warming may stop summertime school sports in Japan from 2060s
KYODO NEWS - 23 minutes ago - 11:06 | Japan, All Without serious efforts to tackle global warming, students in the 2060s or later may no longer be able to engage in extracurricular outdoor sports in summer in most parts of Japan, according to predictions by a research team. In the most pessimistic global warming scenario, the team's heat stress projections showed all or intense outdoor sporting activity would need to be avoided for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August in areas apart from the northern main island of Hokkaido. In Japan, extracurricular activities normally take place in the late afternoon, though the situation may differ during the summer vacation period. The team from the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University in Tokyo created a projection model based on weather data including temperature and humidity as well as a measure of heat stress called the wet-bulb globe temperature, which takes into account factors such as wind and solar radiation, in 842 cities in Japan over a 12-year period. It predicted hourly WBGT heat stress figures in 11 areas across the nation from the 2060s and 2080s, according to scenarios such as when greenhouse gas emissions are drastically cut as well as when emissions are not reduced because of a high dependence on fossil fuels. In the most pessimistic of cases of global warming, the projected reading was 31 or more, meaning outside sporting activity should be avoided in principle under the country's guidelines, in four regions, covering Shikoku, northern and southern Kyushu, and Okinawa, for some time between 3 p.m. and 6 p.m. in July and August. A heat stress index at or above 31 roughly corresponds to 35 C or higher in air temperature. Six areas, from Tohoku to Chugoku, had readings between 28 and 31, meaning intense sporting activity should be avoided. Between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m., none of the regions had figures of 31 or above, but the projections showed intense sports should be avoided in the same hours in August in all regions apart from Hokkaido. Takahiro Oyama, researcher at the institute's Center for Climate Change Adaptation, said the results were indicative of how people's daily lives will change as global warming progresses. "We need to start thinking about how future club activities should be." The annual Koshien national high school baseball tournament has already adopted a two-session system to reduce the negative impact of the summer heat, dividing some of the schedule into morning and late afternoon games. If the warming of the planet continues, it could affect more than just school sports, leading to time and venue changes, experts said. Related coverage: Japan logs its hottest year on record in 2024 for 2nd straight year
Japan Times
16-04-2025
- Climate
- Japan Times
Rising temperatures could cancel most outdoor school sports in summer by 2060s
School sports tournaments and club activities across Japan may need to be canceled for much of the summer by the 2060s as climate change pushes heat levels beyond safe limits, according to a joint study by the National Institute for Environmental Studies and Waseda University. Millions of students across the country participate in school sports clubs, and thousands of heat-related illnesses have been reported almost every year since 2018. Current Environment Ministry guidelines call for halting strenuous outdoor activities when the wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) remains below 28 degrees Celsius for less than two hours (referred to as Heat Level 1) and stopping all activities, indoors or outdoors, when it remains below 31 C for less than two hours (referred to as Heat Level 2). The WBGT is a measure that combines heat, humidity, wind and sunlight. However, the study shows those thresholds could be reached much more frequently in the future, especially in regions that are already warm. The study warned that, in the coming decades, nearly three-quarters of the country could face conditions in which intense physical activities should be suspended for months at a time. The study analyzed projected levels of the WBGT from 842 locations across Japan from the past 12 years. They split the country into eight regions and found that many would experience dangerous heat during peak school club activity hours, which are in the late afternoon. In the worst-case scenario, with continued reliance on fossil fuels, six out of eight regions would experience Heat Level 2 requiring intense activities to be canceled at least once a week, and four zones would need to suspend all physical activities entirely. Even under the most optimistic emissions scenario, five of eight climate zones would still require one to four months of restrictions on strenuous outdoor activities. Common countermeasures, such as early morning practices or moving activities indoors, that are in place currently may reduce the risks, but the researchers found they would not be enough in the future. Even with these steps in place, up to four regions would still require monthslong restrictions under the worst-emissions scenario. 'If climate change progresses, continuing club activities in the same way as before will become difficult,' the researchers said. They called for fundamental changes to how school sports are run, including shifting tournaments to cooler months and investing in indoor training spaces — steps that many regional schools may struggle to afford without government support. Some national tournaments, such as the high-profile Koshien national high school baseball championship, have begun taking precautions by holding games in the morning and evening to avoid peak heat. However, local events often lack the resources to do the same.
