In October 1933, the Ministry of Education founded the Exercise Medical Consultation Office (EMCO). In an attempt is to revisit the historical image of sports policy in prewar Japan, this study sought to clarify why and how this national policy was realized and to examine the nature of its activities from the perspective of the Ministry officials directly involved in its implementation.
Previous studies have evaluated the sports policy of the 1930s as a “physical education policy” that regulated sports activities to improve the national physique and cultivate the national spirit, ultimately leading to the decline and suppression of sports in the 1940s. However, the historical image of this policy was derived by positing the sports policy and its officials as a means of advancing nationalistic intentions. Therefore, the present study examined the process of the EMCO’s foundation and activities separately from the “physical education policy” framework by focusing on the thoughts and actions of EMCO officials, with the aim of relativizing the views of previous studies’ in the context of the contemporary development of sports medicine.
The EMCO was founded on the basis of the “Rational Promotion Policy for Physical Education Exercise” (1930), reflecting the aspirations of sports medicine scholars for an institution in which athletes could be examined by doctors with a deep understanding of sports and sports medicine in order to create an environment that would motivate athletes to continue their sporting activities. Thus, the EMCO did not aim to adjust or control the athlete’s mind and body based on the objectives of physical education, but rather to provide a medical consultation that would examine each individual’s sporting history and physical condition in a specific and comprehensive way. The Ministry of Education officials who promoted this policy had a view of sports that resonated with those involved in private sports organizations. Having expertise and connections in sports and medicine, they hoped to apply and develop sports medicine in a context that was different from the national intentions of ideological guidance and improvement of the national physique. Therefore, this policy created no conflict between the Ministry of Education officials and private sports organizations, and even in the late 1930s, the Ministry of Education developed a policy to encourage sports activities based on personal interests and concerns from the perspective of sports medicine.

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This study aimed to examine the Sasaki-Sebata controversy between Kentaro Sasaki and Shiro Sebata, said to have been the first postwar dispute regarding the practice of physical education. Previous studies have examined mainly the practices of Sasaki and Sebata as well as the differences between them, but in terms of actual historical proof, the positioning of the 2 has been quite ambiguous. By contrast, the present study examined the essence of physical education as considered by Sasaki and Sebata from a historical perspective and sought to clarify their fundamental differences. According to Sasaki, the purpose of physical education was labor, whereas Sebata considered that physical education facilitated a physically active lifestyle separate from labor. Despite this difference, when exploring the practices of the 2, it was found that both had similarly placed value in the aim of breaking away from alienated physical education and maintaining ties with society by fostering the development of children who would be able to change it.

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This study sought to redefine the concept of exercise, and to establish its correct Japanese term:jinryoku. In contemporary Japan, exercise is recognized as easy-access bodily movement for maintenance of individual health or improvement of physical skill.
Historically, however, research on the history of philosophy has tended to consider exercise in the context of morality and ethics related to individual well-being.
Therefore, reconsidering the concept of exercise and translating it into a suitable Japanese context might help to advance the philosophy of sport in relation to culture.
Applying the theory of “spiritual exercise”, the 20th century French philosopher Pierre Hadot (1922-2010) redefined the concept of exercise as actions directed toward a better lifestyle, which can be best expressed as the Japanese term jinryoku. Whether and how far the concept of exercise can serve as a fundamental principle of sports and culture philosophy awaits further discussion.

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This study aimed to investigate the factors related to reduction of short-track speed-skating lap time by examining the relationships between lap time, skating trajectory, skating speed, average section speed, and excess distance in a curved section during maximum effort. The study included 8 male skaters (age, 21 ± 5 yr, height, 1.67 ± 0.05 m, weight, 63.9 ± 4.7 kg), who skated for 3 laps with maximum effort. The curve section was defined as C1 for the first half up to the midpoint of the curve and C2 for the second half after the midpoint. The time taken in the first half of the second lap, skating trajectory, skating speed, change of speed, section average speed, and excess distance covered in the curved section were calculated. The skating speed was expressed as 100% for the entire curved section. The following results were obtained:
1) All subjects moved from the outside to the inside of the course in C1 and from the inside to the outside in C2.
2) Significantly negative relationships were observed between the half lap time and section average speed as well as skating speed at the starts and ends of the sections in C1 and C2 (p<0.05). Furthermore, significantly positive relationships were observed between the section average speed and the starts of the sections in C1 and C2 (p<0.05).
3) No significant relationships were found between the section average speed and excess distance in C1 and C2.
4) The skating speeds at 50% and 100% were significantly lower than that at 0% (p<0.05). The section average speed in C2 was lower than that in C1 (p<0.05).M
5) In C1, some skaters achieved a higher section average speed with a shorter excess distance, while others had a lower section average speed with a greater excess distance.
These results suggest that, in order to shorten the half lap time, it is important to enter C1 with a higher skating speed and maintain this higher speed at the end of the C2, rather than reduce the excess distance in C1.

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The aim of the present study was to examine the availability of IPmax (maximal intermittent power) determined using a new IPmax test as an intensity index for intermittent sprint training. Eight male track and field athletes performed the IPmax test, a submaximal intensity incremental test, a VO₂max test, and 2 intermittent sprint training protocols (IST1 and IST2). The IPmax test involved repeated 30-s sprints with 2-min rest intervals, continuing until exhaustion with gradually increasing intensity at each stage. The IPmax derived from the IPmax test was used as the intensity index for the IST1 and the IST2. In the IST1, athletes performed 30-s sprints at 105 %IPmax with 2-min rest intervals until exhaustion. The IST2 consisted of 40-s sprints at 95 %IPmax with 4-min rest intervals until exhaustion. The number of repetitions completed in each IST was recorded. The coefficients of variation for the number of repetitions in each IST were 15.3% and 9.1%, respectively, the 9.1% value being significantly smaller in comparison to previous studies (F = 5.3, p < 0.05). The relative intensity of IPmax in the IPmax test was 179 ± 11 %VO₂max, indicating a high intensity level, and was significantly correlated with aerobic capacity (vs. VO₂max, r = 0.77, p < 0.01). Based on these results, we conclude that the IPmax obtained in this study represents a high intensity and has a significant relationship with aerobic capacity, suggesting that it is an intensity index that accounts for both anaerobic and aerobic capacities. Furthermore, the use of %IPmax allows for approximate regulation of the exhaustion point during intermittent sprint training, suggesting its availability as an intensity index for such exercises.

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