The purpose of this study is to clarify how readers perceive gender representation in daily news articles about sports in Japan, in relation to readers’ gender and age groups. In this study, 15 items that characterize gender representation in sports reporting, referring to the IOC guidelines, etc. were set, and examined the discomfort felt by readers when these items were applied to both male and female athletes. An online survey was conducted from March 24 to 28, 2022, on monitors owned by an Internet research company, and 1,000 monitors responded to question items.

Not a few respondents answered that they did not feel uncomfortable with gender representation of athletes, which means that there was a gap between the message of the IOC's guidelines and the way the readers felt. Respondents felt less uncomfortable with gender representations of male athletes than they did with those of female athletes. There were differencies, in general, in the perception of gender representation of athletes depending on the gender of the respondent, with male respondents more likely than female respondents to report feeling "no" discomfort. This may mean that both male athletes and male respondents have been left behind in the wave of change surrounding gender representation in sports reporting. In addition, younger respondents tended more likely than older respondents to report they did not feel any discomfort.

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, there were three types of refusal to participate. There was also "Semenya discrimination".

In addition, "Tokyo 2020" is also "a competition that has clearly positioned the Paralympics as the disabled version of the Olympic Games".

The reason why this can be said is that "Tokyo 2020" adopted an extraordinary classification principle as the principle of organizing athletes and sports events, suppressing everyday custom.

What is important is that the Paralympic Game’s function as a testing ground for the social implementation of this precise system based on the extraordinary principles of "classification." Therefore, "Semenya discrimination" is not only gender discrimination, but also segregation of unconscious daily life.

It would be effective to re-recognize "routine passing" in relieving athletes from this "discrimination system".

This study analyzes the content of television news reports on the Tokyo 2020 Olympics to answer three research questions: Was there a decrease in coverage of Covid-19 after the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics? Was coverage of demonstrations protesting the hosting of the Tokyo Olympics marginalized after the opening ceremony? Did coverage of sexual minority athletes increase in comparison with the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games. The results of the analysis confirm a decline in Covid-19 coverage, as reportage on the competition increased. Moreover, coverage of the protests against Tokyo’s hosting was almost absent. However, coverage of sexual minority athletes was confirmed even during the short period of analysis.

In addition, a qualitative analysis of citizens' and casters' comments on the TV news was conducted. The interviews with citizens did not cover the "protest" comments about the Olympics, but mainly reported the "anxiety" and "expectation" comments. After the opening ceremony, they focused on the comments of those who hoped and cheered for the success of the athletes, and erased the comments of "anxiety" and "criticism." Although casters made critical comments before the opening ceremony, nearly 90% of them congratulated the athletes after the ceremony. Thus, the TV news presented an emotional celebration and hid people's protests and critical opinions.