Mountaineering Club Memberships Climb in Japan’s High Schools amid Sharp Fall in Traditional Sports

By Ryo Imaizumi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

11:00 JST, February 17, 2025

As many high school sports clubs face a difficulty trying to attract new members amid the nation’s declining birthrate, one activity is on an uphill trend. Literally as well as figuratively.

Mountaineering clubs across the nation have seen a steady escalation in numbers, increasing 1.6-fold over the past 15 years even as the total number of sports club members dropped more than 10%.

Among the reasons cited are a greater tendency to engage in outdoor activities among the current generation of students; an awareness of the importance of being able to fend for oneself given the recent spate of natural disasters; and placing priority on achieving a balance of schoolwork and hobbies.

“We can use this big rock as a landmark, can’t we?” says one member of the mountaineering club at the Fukuoka Prefectural Shuyukan High School during a climb in September. The club has a history of more than 70 years.

The group of about 25 was scaling 982-meter Mt. Iwara, which straddles the border of Fukuoka and Saga prefectures. While proceeding on the Itoshima in Fukuoka Prefecture, the students compared a physical map with that on the mountaineering map app “Yamap” and made rest stops during the ascent.

“Let’s get going so that we won’t get cold,” says one to keep the trek back on pace.

The members spent the previous night in tents near the entrance to the trail, setting off at about 6 a.m. After reaching the summit of Mt. Iwara, they traversed the range to reach 955-meter Mt. Rai before heading back down. They returned to the campground at about 1 p.m.

This was more than a pleasure hike. It was the same trail as that used for the regional qualifying round for the prefecture’s high school mountaineering championship held on Oct. 19-20, and it gave the club a first-hand look at the conditions.

In mountaineering competitions, four-member teams compete in categories such as: physical aspect (pacing, rhythm, balance, proper distance between members, etc.); tent usage (proper set up, etc.); cooking (proper use of stove, hygiene, etc.) and map-reading (identifying current location, etc.). Each team starts with a perfect score of 100 and points are deducted for errors.

Appreciation of nature

“I joined the club because I like the outdoors and nature,” said a 16-year-old second-year student, who had belonged to the basketball club in junior high school. “When things get tough, I look up and see the sunlight through the trees. It’s pretty and spurs me on.”

The club’s captain, a second-year student, said, “I like the whole process of climbing with my peers.”

The club allows its members to also belong to other clubs, a rarity in Japanese schools, and a number participate in sports, the student council or other activities during the week.

“Fifteen years ago, there were so few members we couldn’t even field one full team,” said the 59-year-old teacher who oversees the club. “But it has gradually increased. In this generation of students, many of their parents took them camping and they have been enjoying the outdoors since they were little.”

“It seems that for those thinking of trying something new after they get to high school, some choose mountaineering because it doesn’t require special skills or experience,” he added.

Lack of club administrators

According to the All Japan High School Athletic Federation, students at its affiliated schools who were members of a sports club numbered about 1.21 million (760,000 boys, 450,000 girls) in fiscal 2009. That figure dropped more than 10% to 1.05 million (680,000 boys, 370,000 girls) by the current fiscal year.

Conversely, school mountaineering clubs saw an increase of about 160% over the same period, from 6,973 (5,573 boys, 1,400 girls) to 11,147 (8,338 boys, 2,809 girls).

Hideo Sahashi, a teacher at Toyokawa High School in Aichi Prefecture and secretary general at the federation’s mountaineering division, says that priorities have diversified through the years, leading students to turn away from traditional sports like soccer and take up ones like mountaineering, which allow a better balance between studies and outside interests.

Additionally, there has been renewed emphasis on the importance of learning cooking and other life-sustaining skills in the wake of the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. And the camping boom set off by the COVID-19 pandemic also gave a boost to interest in outdoor activities.

However, Sahashi expressed concern that while the number of students participating in mountaineering has increased, the number of schools with a club has actually been declining recently.

“While there are more mountaineering club members, the teachers and other staff overseeing the clubs are getting older, causing some mountaineering clubs to be dropped,” he said.

“The burden is not light as they need to give up their holidays to accompany club members on overnight trips. The issue of how to administer clubs with growing membership needs to be addressed.”

Record mountain rescues

Mountaineering has its share of risk. According to the National Police Agency, a record 3,568 people were lost or in distress on mountains across the nation in 2023, breaking the previous record set the previous year by 62. Of that total, 335 people were reported dead or missing.

The vast majority of victims, 77.4%, went to the mountains for hiking or climbing, followed by 9.4% for picking wild vegetables or mushrooms. By age, nearly half were those in their 60s or older, while 5.5% were under 20.

In Fukuoka Prefecture, 71 people were in need of rescue, and four ended up dead or missing. In Yamaguchi Prefecture, 20 people got lost in the mountains, although all came back alive.

“We ask that people choose mountains taking into consideration the weather conditions and matching their level and physical conditions,” an NPA official said. “They need to plan a hike or climb that allows for sufficient time for rest and recovery.”