The "Sports Future Research Notes" begin.

Mission of the Sports Future Research Institute

The Sports Future Institute launched in July 2025 under the slogan "Let's expand sports." This stems from Dentsu Inc.'s longstanding belief, cultivated through years of involvement in the sports business, that "sports can become freer and more exciting."

We aim to create a space where all sports enthusiasts intersect, blending their knowledge, perspectives, and passion to expand the possibilities of sports.

Kuniko Ohinata, former Japanese Paralympic alpine skier and Dentsu Inc. Fellow, serves as Director. Leveraging Dentsu Inc.'s accumulated expertise in sports business, we will pursue the true value of sports with a forward-looking perspective.

Research to Reveal Quantitative Value

The institute's first ongoing project is "Visualizing the Experiential Value of Sports Spectating." This collaborative research with Waseda University, Tokai University, and Dentsu ScienceJam Inc. involves measuring real-time physiological data like brain waves and heart rate to quantitatively elucidate changes in spectators' emotions.

While the experiential value of sports spectating is typically captured qualitatively through surveys and interviews, this joint research aims to quantitatively measure emotions like "excitement," "thrill," and "nervousness" during spectating. This will reveal the essential value of the spectating experience, which has not been visible until now.

Furthermore, the research focuses on the unique "emotional synchronization" inherent to sports spectating. While spectating offers many moments of shared emotion with others, it explores whether differences in spectating styles—such as getting excited with friends at a stadium versus connecting via social media during online viewing—affect emotional synchronization. It also investigates how this synchronization impacts spectators' well-being and fan engagement.

Our research findings will contribute to society through stadium improvements, the evolution of sports content, and the optimization of new entertainment businesses. Stay tuned for updates on these findings in this Sports Future Research Notes series.

Exploring Qualitative Value Through Interviews

There are various approaches to qualitatively exploring the value of sports. This series will delve into the value of sports as seen from each interviewee's specialized field, as well as the value of sports for the interviewees themselves, through interviews with athletes, sports organizations, sports science researchers, and experts.

Navigator: Researcher Pop-kun

Guiding this series is Pop-kun, a character and researcher at our institute. He studied sports extensively in university and joined our institute as a researcher after graduation. He loves learning new things, and when he's deep in thought or surprised, the popcorn in his head pops with a "Pop!" He'll be popping up throughout the articles, so please give him a warm welcome.

Future Schedule

The "Sports Future Research Notes" will be updated approximately once or twice a month.
Part 2: Dai-Nichi Co., Ltd. Director, Sports Future Research Institute
Issue 3: Waseda University Professor Shintaro Sato and Tokai University Associate Professor Daichi Oshimi on their joint research "Shared Experiences in Sports Spectating" (planned)

For topics and inquiries about the "Sports Future Research Institute," please visit:
https://www.dentsu.co.jp/labo/sports_future/index.html

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Author

Bunichi Katsumi

Dentsu Inc.

Since 2015, he has been dedicated to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games, producing sponsor activations, the torch relay, and SPP (Spectator Performance Production). He is currently engaged in visualizing the value of sports and exploring new values, launching the Sports Future Research Institute in July 2025. He is a member of the Japan Society of Sports Industry and is currently enrolled in the Graduate School of Sport Sciences at Waseda University. Born in Okinawa, raised in Venezuela, South America.