Determinants of Sports Participation in Japan: The Interplay of Sociodemographic Factors, Social Roles, and Behavioral Change

Sports participation is a widely recognized facilitator of physical health, mental well-being, and social inclusion, but persistent and substantial disparities have been observed across socioeconomic groups. Focusing on Japan, this study examined the socioeconomic determinants of sports participation, particularly the roles of gender, age, employment, and caregiving responsibilities. It used nationally representative repeated cross-sectional data to analyze participation rates and annual participation days across multiple sports at the population-segment level, defined by combinations of demographic and social attributes. Results revealed prominent sport-specific gender differences, heterogeneous age effects across sports, significant age–gender interaction effects, and distinctive behavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, participation in competitive and group sports declined with age, but walking increased among middle-aged and older adults. In addition, constraints in employment and caregiving had limited overall effects but significantly reduced engagement in walking. These findings suggest the crucial influence of the interaction among social roles, life-stage transitions, and historical context, rather than biological sex differences alone, on sports participation patterns, highlighting the urgency of designing sports policies as inclusive social interventions that consider diverse motivations and limitations across population groups.