The Development of Japanese Basketball: System and Business

Perspectives

Mingyi Xu

Starriver Bilingual School, Shanghai, 201108, China

Keywords: Sports Business, Japanese Basketball, Social Study.

Abstract: This article explores the evolution of basketball in Japan, tracing its journey from its introduction in the late

19th century to its current status as a competitive force in international basketball. It begins by examining the

early stages of basketball's development in Japan, focusing on the initial challenges and adaptations that

helped shape its competing ability. The article then explores the chaotic state of the Japanese basketball

league, highlighting the negative impact of this chaos on the sport's growth. It goes on to analyze the

establishment of the B League, which brought much-needed structure and professionalism to the sport. The

commercialization strategies implemented by the B League, including media partnerships, sponsorship, and

audience engagement, are also discussed, showing how these efforts have enhanced Japan's basketball profile

globally. Lastly, the article evaluates Japan's youth basketball training system, noting its role in cultivating

talent and improving the overall standard of the game. The study concludes that systematic management and

commercial strategies have been pivotal in the global rise of Japanese basketball.

1 INTRODUCTION

Basketball in Japan has experienced significant

evolution since its introduction in the late 19th

century. The game was first introduced to Japan in

1893 (Kawashima, 2018). However, it was not until

1900 that basketball began to gain traction as a formal

sport, particularly in schools and universities. The

first organized games took place in the early 1900s,

with the Tokyo YMCA being one of the first

institutions to adopt and promote the sport. By the

1920s, basketball began to flourish in Japan,

particularly in educational institutions. The

establishment of the Tokyo Metropolitan University

basketball team marked a significant step in

formalizing the sport within academic circles. The

first basketball tournaments and competitions were

held during this period, which included both men's

and women's teams. After World War II, Japan's

basketball scene began to expand, both at the amateur

and professional levels. In the 1950s and 1960s, Japan

saw the rise of the National Basketball Championship

(the Emperor’s Cup), which became a key event in

the basketball calendar. The introduction of the

professional BJ League in 2005 also played a pivotal

role in the development of men's basketball in Japan.

This league provided a platform for local talent and

also attracted foreign players, enhancing the overall

competitiveness of the sport in the country. However,

it was not until recent years that Japanese saw a great

improvement in their national team’s global

competitiveness. In this article, the author will deeply

research the development of commercial system of

Japanese B league, the training system of Japanese

youth team and analyze how Japan basketball gains

its today’s achievements from the perspective of

system and business.

2 CHAOS AND UNITY IN

BASKETBALL LEAGUES

Unlike baseball and football, basketball has always

been an athletic event that is enjoyed by the minority.

Although the three ball games entered Japan at

relatively the same time in the Meiji era, the

achievements reached by football and the popularity

of baseball are both out of Basketball’s reach.

Despite the lack of popularity, the chaos in the

Japanese Basketball League is also a big problem on

the road between Japanese Basketball and Success. In

the early years, Japanese domestic Basketball

matches were presented as an amateur league just like

Xu, M.

The Development of Japanese Basketball: System and Business Perspectives.

DOI: 10.5220/0014074900004942

Paper published under CC license (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Applied Psychology and Marketing Management (APMM 2025), pages 115-118

ISBN: 978-989-758-791-7

115

Japanese Football. League teams are owned by and

named after individual firms such as Panasonic and

Mitsubishi. This continued until 2014 when Albirex

Niigata and Saitama Broncos left the league and

established Basketball Japan League(BJL) (Pan,

2021). BJL is the first Japanese Professional

Basketball league appearing 11 years later than the

formation of the Japanese Professional Football

League. 3 years later, the officials of Japan

established another professional league—the

Japanese Basketball League(JBL)—which was later

renamed as National Basketball League(NBL). In this

way, two separate professional leagues appeared in

Japan at the same time. The situation didn’t change

until 2014, Fédération Internationale de

Basketball(FIBA) announced in the regulation that,

“In order to ensure permanent lines of

communication, a League should be "represented" at

national and or international levels as appropriate”.

Thus, owning 2 professional leagues, Japan was

punished by FIBA utilizing banning the Japanese

national team from every FIBA game. At that time,

Japan just won the bid to host the 2020 Tokyo

Olympics, the punishment meant that the Japanese

national basketball team wouldn’t be able to compete

in the Olympic games hosted (Kietlinski, 2016). In

order to solve this problem, Japan cooperated with

FIBA and formed a working team—Japan 2024 Task

Force—aiming to build a team that would be able to

reach the final in the 2024 Olympics. Saburo

Kawabuchi, a legendary football player who had led

Japan to a breakthrough in 1964 and established the

Football J league, became the president of the Japan

Basketball Association (Chiba, 2012). After he took

office, he quickly combined NBL and BJL into the B

League, symbolizing a subversive change for

Japanese basketball. On September 22nd, 2016, B

League officially kicked-off (Shen, 2016).

3 COMMERCIALIZATION AND

EXPANSION OF THE B

LEAGUE

B league did not put forward long-term goals at first.

Instead, it focused on business and finance, solving

the problems of the survival of the clubs. In the first

season of the B League, teams were divided into 2

divisions: B1 and B2, both had 18 teams competing.

The competition was also divided into three regions:

East, West and West. The Japanese didn't copy the

franchise system of the NBA at first. Instead, the

promotion and demotion system was maintained

during this phase of survival of the fittest (Hedani,

2015). At the same time, the system was set up with

the goal of self-financing, requiring the club to strive

for profit and not to incur losses for three consecutive

years. It also stipulated that the company names

cannot appear in the name of the team or club, it was

not allowed to change the home city at will, and the

club's business scope must be established. The above

conditions were assessed every year. If the

assessment fails, the team will be directly

downgraded to B3 level. The B3 level paved the way

for a future Japanese amateur league. After this

system has been operated for 8 years, Japan now has

3 divisions of the Basketball league: B1, B2 and B3.

Currently (2024), the B1 division consists of 24

teams, the B2 division consists of 14 teams, and the

B3 division consists of 16 teams. In the 2022-2023

season, a total number of attendances was 3.22

million, including 2.57 million in the B1 league and

630,000 in the B2 league, which is twice the number

at the beginning of the league, total revenue reached

49 billion yen. It was also last season that the B

League proposed a ten-year plan codenamed B

Reform focusing on upgrading all three leagues by

2026. The B1 league will become the B League

Premier, the B2 level will become the B League One,

and the B3 level will become the B League Next. By

2026, the Premier League will become a fully

commercialized league with only three entry criteria:

1. Average attendance of 4,000 people 2. Annual

revenue of more than 1.2 billion yen 3. High-level

basketball courts that can flexibly adjust the time

according to the game. The league will also become

more international, and the number of foreign players

per team will be expanded to 4. The league is now

conducting preliminary reviews for current teams in

the league for the future premier league. According to

Japanese announcements, the number of teams that

meet the Premier League standards has reached 20

(League, 2024).

4 BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

AND FINANCIAL

TRANSPARENCY OF

JAPANESE BASKETBALL

Japan also created a professional sports business

environment for firms and clubs. In the early days of

its establishment, the Japanese B League had the

opportunity to cooperate with the world's sports

industry and large industrial entities. The company

behind the B League now that provides brand

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packaging and commercial services is Dentsu which

contributed a lot to Japanese athletic fields. It was

also due to Dentsu’s help can Japanese sports elites

got access to the core the core of global sports

business resources.

Additionally, the Japanese achieved financial

transparency. All the commercial data about Japanese

leagues can be easily collected from the internet and

the official websites of the clubs. The league has been

paying attention to the financial health of clubs over

the past eight years. The principle of financial

transparency was proposed at the beginning of the

league.

High business development execution capabilities

play an important role in the development of Japanese

basketball. In the 2022-2023 season, Ryukyu Golden

Kings got 507 sponsors and partners for its games.

This list contains a variety of firms including

insurance companies, shopping malls, banks, clinics

and even personal yoga studios. Some of them

provide money supplies, and some of them offer

commercial services. As the defending champions,

Ryukyu Golden Kings’s last season's revenue was

2.375 billion yen including 1.014 billion in ticket

income and 0.682 billion in sponsor revenue. After

deducting costs, the club had a total net income of 140

million yen and currently, no partner companies are

leaving. In the next eight years, Japan will have 10

World Cup standard stadiums put into use. The

biggest of which can contain up to 15000 audiences.

Japanese also required every stadium that can contain

at least 10000 people to have more than 30 private

rooms so that there will be a stable ticket income for

every match.

5 JAPAN'S BASKETBALL

YOUTH TRAINING SYSTEM

The Japanese system is also of the reference value.

The Japanese national team was based on player

speed and shooting accuracy (Kuzuhara et al., 2018).

However, as the world of basketball evolves, more

and more teams are becoming quick and accurate.

Therefore, the Japanese men's basketball team's

advantage no longer exists. Planning players has

become the key to victory for the Japanese men's

basketball team (Chiba and Falcous, 2024).

Nevertheless, Japan regards player planning as a

means to improve competitiveness rather than an end.

When there is a lack of excellent players in the

country, planning becomes a necessary measure.

When the quality of local players gradually improves,

planning players will no longer be necessary.

In elementary school, many schools in Japan have

basketball clubs where students are introduced to the

sport. The emphasis is on mastering basic basketball

techniques, such as dribbling, passing, shooting, etc

which is fundamental to the player's future

development. In addition to school basketball clubs,

there are many regional basketball clubs in Japan.

These clubs offer more training opportunities for

young players. Many regional clubs collaborate with

schools to form specialized training programs. These

clubs often hire experienced coaches to help players

improve their skills. High school basketball is very

influential in Japan, especially the national high

school basketball championship (DEMACHI and

SUZUKI, 2020). The tournament is an important part

of Japan's youth basketball training system and

attracts a lot of attention from spectators and the

media each year. Through these tournaments, talented

high school players can demonstrate their skills and

be explored by professional and college teams.

Japanese college basketball offers players the

opportunity to further improve their tactical and

technical skills after entering college. The b division

is a bridge for young players to professional

basketball. Many college graduates joined the b

division to become professional players. As the

highest-level basketball league in Japan, the B league

not only prepares professional players but also

provides a platform for young talents to demonstrate

their skills. In recent years, Japan's youth basketball

system has placed more emphasis on training and

playing abroad. Many young players are sent to

countries such as the United States and Europe for

training camps and competitions. This international

training not only helps players improve their personal

skills, but also exposes them to different playing

styles and helps them understand the competitive

global basketball environment. In addition to training

players, the JBA also places great emphasis on

training coaches. Japan has a well-established system

of training trainers. Trainers must be certified at

different levels to perform different levels of trainer

training. This ensures that coaches in Japan's youth

basketball system are of high quality and that players

receive professional instruction.

6 CONCLUSION

In conclusion, the rise of Japanese basketball from

modest beginnings to a competitive global force

underscores the impact of systematic reform and

The Development of Japanese Basketball: System and Business Perspectives

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strategic development. This paper charts the historical

evolution of the sport in Japan, highlighting the

challenges encountered and the pivotal milestones

that have steered its growth. Through perseverance

and strategic planning, Japanese basketball has

transformed into a formidable presence on the world

stage.

The unification of Japanese basketball leagues into

the B League marked a significant turning point,

resolving the prior disorganization that hindered the

sport's progress. By prioritizing financial stability and

fostering business development, the B League has

ensured the sustainability of its clubs while also

facilitating growth and expansion. The introduction

of the B Reform plan and the accompanying

restructuring initiatives reflect a proactive and

visionary approach. These measures are designed to

elevate the sport, fostering a more competitive and

organized environment that propels Japanese

basketball to new levels of excellence.

Financial transparency and robust business

development execution have been pivotal in drawing

sponsorships and partnerships, enhancing both

revenue and the sport's visibility. Clubs like the

Ryukyu Golden Kings, with their numerous sponsors

and substantial earnings, exemplify the effectiveness

of these strategies. Their success underscores the

impact of these approaches on the financial health and

profile of basketball in Japan.

The Japanese basketball system focuses on

nurturing talent from a young age, creating a seamless

pipeline through school and regional clubs, high

school championships, and the B League. This

comprehensive approach is complemented by an

emphasis on international training and exposure,

which has honed the skills and competitiveness of

Japanese players globally. Investment in coaching

and training infrastructure ensures that this pipeline

remains resilient and effective, producing a steady

stream of elite talent for the sport.

Looking ahead, the B League aims to fully

commercialize its Premier League by 2026, with

stringent entry criteria. This ambition promises to

bolster the sport's professionalism and draw in more

talent and investment.

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