Sports fan numbers in Japan 2023, by league

In 2023, Japan's national baseball team had an estimated fandom of approximately 28.9 million people. The baseball national team had the highest number of fans in Japanese professional sports, followed by the national soccer team.

Attendance during COVID-19 times

The distribution in the number of fans is also reflected in attendance figures. Japan’s best-attended sports were baseball and soccer, both of which have a professional circuit, the NPB for baseball and the J.League for soccer. With the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, attendance figures at baseball games at stadiums declined significantly, while the same was the case for attendances at J-League matches.

Making live spectating possible

For sports governing bodies and presumably athletes alike, having spectators at sports matches is essential. To make live spectating at stadiums and venues possible during the pandemic, measures had to be taken to comply with governmental hygiene regulations and to gain the trust of fans. Numerous safety steps were aimed at relieving prospective fans’ COVID-19-related anxiety, which ranged from physical distance keeping to body temperature control when entering the premises. Sports fans in Japan tended to stick to regulations, as was observed at J.League matches where most of the audience was wearing masks and refrained from vocal cheering (clapping was allowed).