I am wondering why Japan's football is strong but basketball is weak``

[包龙星]

Why the football team of Japan is the best in Asia?
Because of the physiology conditions ? Obviously not...Arabics and
those in mid-asian are much taller and stronger than japanses player..
So I think,maybe because Japan Football players trained a lot and have strong spirit.
Judging from mathes I have watched, almost all the Japaese football
players have a good endurance,which others lack..
But,it is so strange that japan's basketball team is not very famous in
the world.Many people even think J-Basketball is much weaker than S-Korean's... so I am wondering whether basketball is popular in Japan?--why Japan's basketball team is not so good?

 

[SushiShin]

I like Inamoto from japan!!! he is a very good football player!!

and about basketball?? well sorry i never saw:? a team exactly except team number one lol (thats a jdorama)

 

[Iron Chef]

Basketball just doesn't have enough cultural impact here compared with other sports to make an impression on young athletes in their formative years. Basketball clubs are common enough starting with junior high school but the actual games aren't very competitive imo (I used to coach a girl's team). While in school, other sports (most notably baseball and soccer for the boys and softball and volleyball for the girls) usually garners more interest.

You know, in the six years now I have been here and having lived in three major cities I can count the number of times I saw kids playing hoops in a park or on the street on one hand compared with how often I see youth kicking a soccer ball or playing catch. Whenever I see a rim attached to someone's garage i'm always amazed because they are in fact quite rare (at least from my experience). The NBA does seem to have a following here though amongst the younger generation although this could be attributed more to the league's "hip-hop flava" appeal than to the actual sport itself.

Also, I should note there does appear to be some level of interest the older one gets though as evidenced by the numerous adult leagues that get together a couple times a month and play at local gymnasiums (myself included). If you want to have fun, poll a random sample of young people and see how many famous soccer and baseball player's names they will throw out but when asked about anyone in the NBA other than Kobe or LeBron or MJ, watch the blank stares...

 

[franky]

But in china, basketball is strong than football!

 

[maushan3]

But in china, basketball is strong than football!

China and Japan are a whole different world, so I understand.

Mauricio

 

[highlight]

Soccer being an international sport would gather more attention IMO than a more Americanized sport like basketball in Japan but that may change or the two will level out with the coming years.

 

[Arch]

Japanese people like Football alot more then Basketball (from the japanese friends I used to know)

Ergo, more Japanese people play Football then Basketball. So understanding why the Japanese Football is better then the Japanese Basketball team isn't so hard to understand.

Apropos, the Japanese Football team isn't as good as it used to be. It's in decline.

 

[CoCo08]

Just because Football is better than Basketball !

 

[KirinMan]

Sure there are almost no street rims and kids dont live with their basketballs but basketball is very popular among kids as well. There are many other sports vieing for attention plus the limited exposure and a very small pro-league put it in the background to soccer.

There is a huge corporation league, (Shakaijin Baskeball) where the Corporations actually find foreign players to come and play as well. It is very competitve too.

Part of the perception problem about looking at the level of competition is that in the ES and JHS the coaches and teachers drill fundamentals, fundamentals, and more fundamentals.

Individuality is frowned upon, in any decently coached JHS team here the kids work endlessly on fundamentals and learning how to play the game right.

Players that can not fit into the "team" even if they have outstanding skills will most times be benched in favor of a team player. If you like showmanship basketball Japan is not the place to find it. If you like to watch basketball played as a team sport then this is one place the game is quite entertaining.

Sorry to the OP but when I read the subject line of this thread I thought of the "other" football.

 

[MeAndroo]

If you like showmanship basketball Japan is not the place to find it. If you like to watch basketball played as a team sport then this is one place the game is quite entertaining.

I didn't really think about it, but when I watched Yuta Tabuse play for the Long Beach ABA team alongside Dennis Rodman and the same team that Matt Barnes was on before he hit the NBA, I was struck by just how much of a pass-first point guard he was. This is a league where teams put up 140 points regularly because there's just no defense and Tabuse ended up with maybe 4 points on 3 shots. He had a breakaway layup and instead waited for a teammate to finish. It's nice to be unselfish, but there are times to be aggressive as well.

I couldn't help wondering if his unwillingness to shoot was why he didn't make the Suns, a team where a passing point guard has been a 2-time MVP but where everyone is supposed to shoot when they're open.

 

[KirinMan]

I didn't really think about it, but when I watched Yuta Tabuse play for the Long Beach ABA team alongside Dennis Rodman and the same team that Matt Barnes was on before he hit the NBA, I was struck by just how much of a pass-first point guard he was. This is a league where teams put up 140 points regularly because there's just no defense and Tabuse ended up with maybe 4 points on 3 shots. He had a breakaway layup and instead waited for a teammate to finish. It's nice to be unselfish, but there are times to be aggressive as well.
I couldn't help wondering if his unwillingness to shoot was why he didn't make the Suns, a team where a passing point guard has been a 2-time MVP but where everyone is supposed to shoot when they're open.

Tabuse is a "hero" or "idol" to many JHS basketball players, they don't see size as being so much of a handicap as many once did. There are not that many 6'6" or larger kids playing basketball here and many have/had the impression that they have to be 7ft tall to play in the NBA.

One other thing that is a "problem" per say is that in the ES schools they play "mini"-basketball. The rim is lowered so that it is easier to put shots in. They play with just as much enthusiam, if not more in some ways, than kids in the US.

They learn to play as a team, which in my opinion is better than the showboating in the NBA.

(Sidenote; I've coached both JHS and HS (asst) here for a number of years and I am alwasy amazed at the kids willingness to play as a team and work for the open shot, it's the name of the game here. The teams are very well disciplined, no showboating or aggravating other teams players, kids playing the game as in my opinion it should be played)

 

[MeAndroo]

They learn to play as a team, which in my opinion is better than the showboating in the NBA.

You may be pleased to find out that the two teams that'll probably play for the NBA championship this year, the Pistons and the Spurs, have pretty much no showboating at all.

When I joined a basketball circle at Waseda, there wasn't much showboating, but there was a lot of one-on-one play. Of course, I attribute this more to the fact that we weren't a "team" as opposed to a bunch of college kids who got together for pick up games every week. Just to make it fun, I'd yell or make crazy gestures if I made a good play and most of them thought it was pretty funny. This probably played into the whole foreigner thing more than anything else, though.

 

[CoCo08]

Japanese men could be good in football. They can be quick, they just need to do technical work. Basketball needs to be physically stronger more than football does. That's why the J-Basketball is weak.

 

[YAPONLUQ]

Every schools have their own basketball court in China and Japan.

Every schools(from elementary school to university) in Japan has their own football team and play ground, and they join local football league.
None in China.
That is the difference.

 

[KirinMan]

Every schools have their own basketball court in China and Japan.
Every schools(from elementary school to university) in Japan has their own football team and play ground, and they join local football league.
None in China.
That is the difference.

Well here in Okinawa I know that nearly every school from ES, (Mini-basketball) JHS, boys and girls, and HS, nearly all boys and some girls, have basketball teams and play year round.

The schools also have soccer teams as well. But basketball doesnt have the same appeal or popularity after HS that soccer does. Plus it doesnt seem as if there is enough interest here in a pro-basketball league. Even though there is a small one it doesnt get the same exposure as soccer does.

You may be pleased to find out that the two teams that'll probably play for the NBA championship this year, the Pistons and the Spurs, have pretty much no showboating at all.

I hope Cleveland wins, I doubt it seriously, but I still hope. And yes I appreciate the team play of the Spurs I dont think they get enough credit for playing team ball.

 

[yuuto]

Japanese team has been good in soccer since Philippe Troussier was their coach.
Troussier coached Japanese national team from 1998 to 2002, winning the 2000 Asian Cup placing second at the 2001 Confederations Cup and made the round of 16 at the 2002 World Cup.
So about basket ball, they need, good coach, and I'd say the best height for a basketball player is a little over 6 feet,