The female breast is known to be affected by mastalgia and discomfort due to its lack of anatomical support, irregular movement, and high forces during daily life and exercise. Excessive breast motion has been associated with exercise-induced breast pain, which can negatively affect performance, or even prevent some women from participating in physical activity. This study systematically reviewed major studies on women’s exercise and breast-related injuries, breast motion during exercise, and the function of sports bras in order to 1) understand factors affecting female breasts during exercise, and the effectiveness of sports bras in prevention of breast injury, and 2) identify issues related to the wearing of sports bras during exercise.
　In recent years, many studies have focused on sports bras and breast motion during exercise. These studies mainly employed biomechanical methods with treadmill running, and their results and conclusions differed. Similarly, multiple studies found different sports bra usage rates. On the other hand, many studies have agreed that breast motion during exercise should be reduced and that sports bras are effective for achieving this, but that many women choose the wrong bra size. These results point to a lack of knowledge of this issue among women. An intervention study of female students showed that better sports bra knowledge improved their ability to choose a bra providing support that was more appropriate for the intended level of physical activity and breast size. These findings indicate the need for educational approaches to better breast protection and injury prevention.

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　This study investigated the characteristics of visual behavior in skilled kendoists while judging the validity of strikes. A total of 19 expert and 19 novice kendoists were asked to judge the validity of strikes for men (head armor), do (side trunk covered by a stomach and chest protector), or kote (lower forearm covered by a gauntlet). Simultaneously, the participants' eye movements were recorded at 30 Hz, and the location at which their gaze was directed was identified. Additionally, the pupil area was calculated for each frame. Both expert and novice kendoists focused on the striker's shinai (bamboo sword) during the phase from 900 ms to 600 ms before striking, and on the site struck during the phase from the moment of striking to 300 ms after striking. However, during the phase from 600 ms before the strike to just before the strike, the experts tended to switch their gaze from the strikefur's shinai to the striking site earlier than the novices. Furthermore, the pupil areas of the experts were correlated with their years of experience in judging the validity of a strike to the men. The gaze behavior specific to expert kendoists, such as observing the striking area during the phase just before striking while exhibiting intense scrutiny, may be related to their superior ability to judge the validity of strikes.

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　Sports skills are acquired and developed on a subjective basis involving elements such as individual consciousness and sensing. Sports skills are not fixed elements, but change and evolve with time. In gymnastics, the backward giant swing on the horizontal bar is an extremely important basic skill, as mastering it largely determines the standard of horizontal bar performance. A conventional theory regarding this skill has spread both nationally and internationally. It posits that rotational acceleration is created by snapping, which requires breaking the shoulders and maximizing the extension and flexion of body joints to tap the body's hidden limits. In contrast, a top world-level performer who was the subject of the present study has argued that keeping the body tight rather than breaking is the key, thus completely going against the commonly held theory. The technical characteristics and significance of this gymnast's approach were investigated by category analysis based on the phenomenological movement theory. This revealed that this top performer created rotational acceleration by exploiting the reaction of the horizontal bar by maximizing its bounce. This bar reaction was produced by generating tension in the body during overhang phases by staying tight to prevent the shoulders, waist and chest from extending.

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　As regional sport has been raised as an important policy issue, this study examined the autonomy and independence of the Japan Sport Association (JSPO) as a private sport governing body based on discussions of governance. This was based on the fact that the JSPO defines sport as a universal culture based on enjoyment of free physical activity, in contrast to the definition of sport provided by the Japanese government in the Basic Act on Sports.
　Positioning the governance of sport as a way to address sport-related issues and dividing the governance of sport between the need to improve the organization's management and the methodology of decision-making in relation to the realization of methods that are suited to Japan, it is clear that conventional discussion of sports governance in Japan is biased toward the former. Moreover, it has become clear from overseas cases that such discussions have harmful effects such as strengthening of supervision by the government. In view of the lack of consideration of decision-making methods designed to realize the ideal form of sport in Japan, this study examined the ideal state of the JSPO from the viewpoint of public policy theory and public administration, and particularly social governance, which covers the state and activity of various civil sectors acting in cooperation.
　Based on the discussion promoted by Kiku (2001), it became clear that sport as defined and promoted by the JSPO has a public face and is subject to discussion throught social governance. In addition, it is considered that the JSPO can secure its autonomy and independence from its role as a social governance actor. Analysis of the JSPO's medium-term policy suggested that the ratio of subsidies to income, and discussions regarding the definition of sports at conferences, etc., revealed that the JSPO lacks autonomy and independence, and that issues of social governance remain to be addressed. These findings suggest that the JSPO needs autonomy and independence to promote sport under its own definition, based on discussions of social governance.

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　The main purpose of this study was to analyze the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement from multiple perspectives by linking data from the National Physical Fitness and Exercise Survey, and the National Assessment of Educational Attainment and Progress, targeting 1,213 6th grade elementary school students. Additionally, we examined the basic exercise, learning, and lifestyle factors related to the characteristics of physical fitness and academic achievement in a composite manner. The main results were as follows:
　1) Although a significant positive correlation was observed between physical fitness and academic achievement, the degree of association was low.
　2) There were significant differences in the average number of correct responses to the achievement test depending on the children's physical fitness level. Children with higher physical fitness levels tended to have higher academic achievement in all items. However, children in physical fitness assessment group E had significantly lower academic achievement scores, suggesting that the children with high physical fitness tended to have higher academic achievement.
　3) Multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the influence of lifestyle on both physical fitness and academic achievement. This revealed that 3 items – exercise time on weekdays and weekends and homework effort – were significantly related to physical fitness, 5 items – screen time on weekdays and weekends, homework effort, study preparation and review, and reading time on weekdays – were significantly related to academic achievement.
　The present results have revealed the relationship between physical fitness and academic achievement in upper elementary school students, as well as the characteristics of the combined relationship of basic habits to both.

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Race walking is a discipline of athletics recognized at Olympic and World Championship level. According to World Athletics technical rule 54.2, race walking is a progression of steps taken so that the walker maintains contact with the ground without any visible loss of contact (at least to the human eye). The aims of this study were (a) to verify the cognition of the flight time by race walking judges that might be necessary for the decision of loss of contact consistent with the rule wording and (b) to identify other motion factors that might affect judgment during race walking. Seven participants who received a Yellow-Paddle (violation of the technical definition) from 1 judge who was included in this study (yellow paddle group) and 7 participants who did not receive a Yellow-Paddle (no-yellow paddle group) during the race walking event were analyzed. The walking motions of these participants were recorded by 2 high-speed cameras (100 fps). Referring to the handbook for competition officials in Japan and previous studies, several judgment items (such as flight time, heel height, and shank and knee joint angle) were compared between the 2 groups. No significant difference in flight time between the 2 groups was evident, indicating that the judge was unable to judge the loss of contact violation accurately. However, the vertical heel position was significantly higher in the yellow paddle group than in no-yellow paddle group. Also, the knee joint angle was significantly more flexed in the former. Therefore, to avoid violation, keeping the heel in a low position with less flexion of the knee joint after toe-off with the ground may be significant.

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While learning outcomes in university physical education (PE) courses have previously been identified, details of the factors influencing them are very limited. In this context, the present study was conducted to examine the conditions that influence the learning outcomes of university PE courses, focusing on “learner characteristics” and “learning/ teaching behavior”as potential factors. A questionnaire survey was conducted among university students who had taken general PE courses. The study assessed learning outcomes using the Perceived Benefits Scale in university First-Year PE classes (PBS-FYPE). “Learner characteristics” were mainly assessed using the Japanese version of the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI-J), ENcode, Decode, COntrol, REgulate communication skill scales (ENDCOREs), and the Bidimensional Resilience Scale (BRS). In addition, “learning/teaching behavior” was mainly assessed using the Experience Scale in University Physical Education Classes (ESUPEC), the motivational climate scale in PE classes, and the teaching behavior of PE teachers. A total of 1,499 (803 male and 696 female, mean age: 19.1 ±0.9 years) participants completed the questionnaire. The findings, based on decision tree analysis using classification and regression trees (CART), suggested that aspects of PE class learning/teaching behavior such as challenge, cooperation, and enjoyment experience were the factors that had most influence on perceived benefits, rather than “learner characteristics”. However, PE teacher “empathy/ consideration”, student “degree of lesson willingness” and the class “mastery climate” were also identified as potential influencing factors. In particular, the CART analysis yielded a score of ›9.5 for “acquisition of exercise skills and training methods” and ›29.5 for “empathy/ consideration”. The study highlighted the importance of focusing on the content of the lessons and the teaching methods that satisfy the sport experience of students and thus enhance perceived benefits. To further understand the causal relationship between such factors and learning outcomes, longitudinal surveys and intervention studies will be necessary. The present findings should help to improve the design and delivery of university PE courses, and thus enhance the learning outcomes of students.

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　The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of different measurements under 3 surface conditions on jump distance in the standing long jump. The participants were 15 members of a college male basketball team. In the experiment, each participant performed standing long jump tests under 3 surface conditions for maximal distance: 1) tartan track take off - sand landing, 2) wooden floor take off - artificial turf landing, and 3) mat take off - mat landing conditions. The jump distance was measured 3 times for the 3 conditions with a measuring tape, from which the longest jump distance was selected. The data were analyzed to assess differences in the conditions for jump distance and individual variability. The mat-mat condition resulted in lower performance than the other 2 conditions (by 3–5%). No significant differences in jump distance were found between the tartan track take off - sand landing and wooden floor take off - artificial turf landing conditions. In terms of individual variability, there were no significant differences in the coefficient of variation of the jump distance among the 3 conditions. These results suggest the need for awareness of the environmental surface conditions, since measurement of the standing long jump distance on soft surfaces, such as under mat take off - mat landing conditions, could result in a shortening of the distance by approximately 3-5%. In addition, the measurement environment should be standardized as far as possible when performing cross-sectional and longitudinal evaluations, as different surface conditions might result in different measurements.

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　This study investigated 1 class in the 5th grade of elementary school (12 boys and 16 girls) who received coaching in endurance running using 3 methods : the all-out method, in which children ran at almost full exertion; the inner/outer track (I/OT) method, in which the duration of exercise was equalized by having slower/faster runners use the inner/outer running tracks, respectively; and the rate of perceived exertion (RPE) method, in which children ran at a “fairly light — somewhat hard” intensity. We compared the changes in awareness regarding endurance running and explored the factors responsible for these changes based on exercise intensity and pace strategy. Our results were as follows: 1) Before implementation of the coaching methods, the percentage of those who perceived endurance running favorably was significantly higher for boys (83.3%) than for girls (43.8%) (p ＝ .046) and for other question items, scores for boys were generally higher. 2) After implementation of the coaching methods, favorable responses remained high at 91.7% for boys and increased to 62.5 - 75.0% for girls, irrespective of coaching method. However, there were no significant differences among the 3 methods, and no tendency for the positivity rate to increase for any particular method. 3) For each coaching method, running speed showed a U-shaped curve, with no apparent gender difference. However, the running speed and stride length that contributed to it were significantly higher in boys than in girls. 4) Regardless of gender, the heart rate (HR) observed for each coaching method rose rapidly immediately after the start, and HRs at the 40% and 100% time points had increased to 180.9 -186.5 bpm and 182.1 - 195.3 bpm, respectively, there being no differences among the 3 methods. 5) The RPE taught before running and the RPE just after running almost matched. However, the RPE just after running was 6 (HR 60 beats/min) lower than the HR at the end of running. 6) In conclusion, there were no significant differences between the 3 coaching methods for both sexes in terms of favorable attitudes, irrespective of the type of endurance running, pace pattern or HR. However, endurance running ability and attitude towards endurance running were less favorable for girls than for boys, suggesting that a coaching method designed to develop a favorable attitude is particularly desirable for girls.

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