Elementary and junior high schools located in areas where a state of emergency or priority measures are implemented are torn about whether to hold their annual sports days for their students.
As new variants of the coronavirus, which are said to be highly contagious even among younger people, are spreading rapidly, some schools are holding their sports days without spectators and livestreaming the event, while others are forced to cancel or postpone them until the autumn.
-- Making memories
"All parents and guardians, please vacate the school premises."
On May 22, Sakura Elementary School in Setagaya Ward, Tokyo, held a sports day. The school allocated 30 minutes for each grade. As one grade finished their dance and race, an announcement was heard over the loudspeaker for parents and guardians of one grade to exit, so the parents and guardians of another grade could enter.
The only people allowed in the schoolyard were the students who were a part of the event and their guardians. The events were livestreamed so students in other grades could watch them on large monitors in their classrooms and parents and guardians could watch them on their smartphones.
Last year, the ward-run school postponed its sports day until October because of school closures -- as a result of the pandemic. The students were divided into two groups, one group comprising first, second and third graders and the other comprising fourth, fifth and sixth graders, who performed separately. This year, the students were divided even further.
"I was worried about whether the sports day would happen this year because of the state of emergency, but I'm glad it was held," said Ririko Suzuki, 11, a sixth-grader.
Sachiko Nomura, a mother of a fifth-grader, said, "We are grateful that the school has given the students an opportunity to show how hard they have worked."
Kaori Nishida, the principal of the school, said: "With there being restrictions for students, even when playing outside, we were worried that they were not getting enough exercise. As the sports day is a memorable event for them, we wanted to hold it no matter what, by being extremely cautious in preventing infections."
-- Mixed responses
The responses have been mixed. In Setagaya Ward, 30 of the 53 ward-run elementary and junior high schools, which had scheduled to hold their sports days in May, have postponed them to June or autumn.
The board of education for Takamatsu has asked the city's schools to hold their sports days, which were to be held in May, with no spectators, including parents and guardians. Each school took such steps as recording the events and posting the videos online.
The Osaka prefectural government has requested its prefecture-run schools to either cancel or postpone their sports days while the state of emergency was in effect.
One Osaka prefectural high school has decided to postpone its sports day. The school is considering holding group performances, such as dancing, and sports events separately -- one in the summer and the other in autumn.
"We would like to hold the events so they will be memorable," the school principal said.
In Hiroshima Prefecture, a school canceled its sports day, which was scheduled to be held on May 29. The school canceled last year's event as well.
"We tried to think of various ways to avoid canceling the event for the second straight year, but we prioritize the health and safety of our students, so we decided not to hold it," the school principal said.
-- Allowing students to bond
Concerns about the possible decline in students' athletic ability have grown as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Last year, a survey on children's physical strength and athletic ability did not produce sufficient data because of the pandemic.
"We are worried about [children's] physical strength because they have been stuck at home," said Koichi Hagiuda, the Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology minister, at a press conference on May 18.
Prof. Takahiro Nakano of Chukyo University, who specializes in children's sports science, surveyed 2,352 elementary school children and their parents or guardians in Tajimi, Gifu Prefecture, last December. The survey asked about the number of hours they spent outside exercising before and during the pandemic. Thirteen percent said they spent more time outside amid the pandemic, 38% said they spent less time outside and 50% said there was no difference.
"Sports days have positive effects, not only on improving physical ability but it also allows students to bond and nurtures a sense of cooperation through physical education classes held prior to the event," Nakano said. "Although schools have been asked to take various measures and reduce school hours amid the pandemic, I hope [sports days] will be kept as a way to enhance the learning experience for students."
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