We have entered a new century. It is essential to progress to a society with equal participation for men and women, where both genders can display their personality and ability. In 1999, the basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society was issued and enacted. It outlines five basic ideas; respect for equal right that bans discriminatory treatment of people based on sex; consideration of systems and customs in society; and so forth.
In 2000, the Basic Plan for the Promotion of Sport was developed as a result of the increasing importance of athletics in modern Japanese society. The plan suggests specific goals; improving the rate of adults who participate in sport more than a day per week to 50%; establishing a local, all purpose sport club in each community within a decade; a doubling of the number of medals attained by Japan in the Olympic games; and promoting a closer link between lifelong and competitive sport and school physical education and sport. Although the promotion of sports has been part of the policy goal to increase health, education, welfare, and economy of individuals and society, sex discrimination is still prevalent in the world of sport. A lot of injustice and inequity also still exists, especially for women.
A three-fold plan has been implemented to urge social reform. This plan incorporates legislation, glass-root movements, and development of theories. The first part of the plan, legislative action, has resulted in development of the Basic Law for a Gender-equal Society in Japan. Additional legislative actions have been adopted and come in to force as well. These include the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, and the Beijing Platform for Action. The Brighton Declaration and the Windhoek Call for Action have been a result of the World Conference on Women and Sport. The fourth conference of the World Conference of Women and Sport will be held in Kumamoto in 2006.
Despite this , movements to promote gender-equity and justice in sport, and the construction of theories leading to the movements, are still insufficient. In Japan, the majority of gender studies in sport consist of categoric research and distributive research. Categoric research analyzes strength and competition records regarding sex. Distributive research studies the unequal distribution of the gender within the coaching, and administrative staff, and the variety of sports or events offered, and the level of participation. However, research that analyzes how the male dominant structure of gender has worked to highlight gender politics in sport has not surfaced. Relational analyses are still inadequate. The research has just started and is significantly delayed when compared to other fields. In addition, recent gender studies have focused on other areas such as the discontinuity of sex, gender, and sexuality, diversity of sex, gender identity, and the North/South problem in gender. It becomes more urgent then for those in the field of gender in sport to assemble in order to deepen and accelerate the research relating to sport, gender, and sexuality.