Message from Director General

    JISS has welcomed the tenth year of our long-awaited establishment in the world of Japanese sports in 2001.
   Various international competitions have taken place during this time that put Japanese athletes on the global stage. Particularly notable were the Athens 2004 Olympic Games in which the Japanese delegation brought home 37 medals and, the year before last, the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games in which Japan won 25 medals. At the Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver this February, Japanese athletes came in eighth place or higher in a total of 26 events, including three silver and two bronze medals, overall performing slightly better than they did at the previous Games in Turin.

   The duty of JISS is to utilize our integrated capacity for Sports Sciences, Sports Medicine and Sports Intelligence to draw out athletes’ latent capabilities and support the various strengthening activities that will lead them to the apex of the world. To apply the effects of the research conducted at JISS in actual sports and link them to truly enhanced competitiveness, however, repeated trial and error based on mutual trust between athletes and coaches is essential.
   During our decade-long presence, we have gradually stepped up our research to where we can meet athletes’ and coaches’ demands, and accumulated a great deal of expertise by giving feedback to these athletes and coaches about our research so that it can be used to improve levels of competitiveness.

   Reflecting on the latest Olympic Winter Games in Vancouver, JISS entered discussions with respective national federations immediately after Turin. We clarified the quality of events and the issues faced by individual athletes. We participated in training camps and tours, devoting ourselves to athletes around the clock. And we continued our various support activities throughout the actual Games in Vancouver.

   Despite the proverb “the chance of war is uncertain,” we are building confidence that through clarifying issues and targets, fully and mutually discussing specific measures, and making systematic and continual efforts within the four-year cycle, the effects of our support activities can steadily be reflected in the performance of not only individual athletes but also their separate events.

   That said, the latest results in Vancouver, Turin and Salt Lake City suggest a shift in the international power balance at the Olympic Winter Games. Whereas the European and North American spheres have historically and environmentally dominated winter sports, recently Asian countries – particularly South Korea and China – are creating a stir with remarkable progress.

国立スポーツ科学センターセンター長岩上安孝

Yasutaka Iwagami