Why do Japanese martial arts have so much mystical mumbo jumbo attached to them?
Many of them were developed when no actual combat was going on. Karate has less bs because it was a practical skill developed during the Okinawan resistance to Japanese rule
Why the nationalistic overtones of judo and kendo?
They became required subjects at schools in 1931 when Japan was in full fascist swing, and the postwar ban didn’t seem to take away its appeal for Sparta-loving teachers
Why did baseball replace sumo as the Japanese national sport?
There are similarities with both sumo and kendo- the one on one confrontation and the long face to face build up before any action
Why are most Japanese footballers pretty boys who collapse as soon as the pressure is put on?
They chose football because the training is easier than baseball and they don’t have to have crewcuts
Why do the Japanese have such problems scoring goals in internationals?
Getting used to crap defending in the J League, intolerable pressure from the hysterical fans, and fear of faliure
Why do the fans of baseball teams take turns cheering?
Why golf?
It’s the only sport you can acceptably practice on your own, high status, time consuming, and based on perfectionism.
Why is karate not a big spectator sport?
Why is football (soccer) so popular with Japanese girls?
It was partly timing- the J League became big just as girls were getting into sport. The players are also “prettier” than the baseball players, with dyed hair and what have you.
Why is Tokyo bidding for the Olympics in 2016?
It is just one man’s vanity project- the Govenor of Tokyo, Ishihara Shintaro, hasn’t been getting enough attention recently.
Why is women’s volleyball so popular in Japan?
The woman’s volleyball team was one of the great victories in the 1964 Japanese Olympics, since when people have followed the sport closely. It is also very watchable, if you get my meaning…
Dont sumo wrestlers suffer health problems from their weight?
Yes, they do. Their life expectancy is considerably less than the general population.
Why are the successful sumo wrestlers now foreigners?
It is not attracting many Japanese because it was traditionally something you dropped out of school to do and now nearly everyone completes high school. The Japanese sumo wrestlers that there are lose out because they aren’t as hungry for success as some other wrestlers, they lack technique because they have only done sumo and haven’t got more rounded skills from other forms of wrestling, and their training methods are outdated (no use of weights etc.)
Why is walking round and round the swimming pool so popular?
Can’t swim? My whirlpool story
Golf
business contacts
subtle form of bribery
conversation not face to face like akachochin
Why ice hockey not popular?
Why can you sometimes see huge empty spaces under the street when they are digging up a road?
Japan Explained FASAQ 
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