Political economy and judo: the globalization of a traditional Japanese sport

Abstract

Since the late nineteenth century, the Japanese traditional sport of judo has been diffused throughout the world and established its position as a global sport. Through the process of globalization, judo has been changed and influenced by the transfer of power to organizations such as the International Olympics Committee and the International Judo Federation. This essay explores the contemporary issue of how the traditional Japanese sport of judo is misrepresented through its now institutionalized global governance and practice. A brief background on the modern history of Japanese sports, judo and the traditional Japanese values that were formerly abided by in the sport will be explained to then build a case towards its twentieth-century incorporation into the 1964 Tokyo Olympic Games. The global governance of the sport by the IJF is then criticized, particularly in terms of the change of the traditional rules and forms that have been installed under their power through economic, political and cultural amendments. Additionally, the impact of the globalization of judo in Japan is explained indepth. The conclusion of this essay is expected to identify further areas for research inquiry into the global governance of judo and how it is inseparable from the sportization process and that of the wider global political economy of neoliberal capitalism.