From Grade Schooler to Great Star: Childhood Development and the “Golden Age” in the World of Japanese Soccer

If you are a parent living almost anywhere in Japan with preschool-age children, you may have seen advertisements for or already participated in one of the Japan Football Association’s (JFA) “soccer kids” festivals. These festivals target children six years and under and are a central component of a JFA educational initiative launched in 2003, interchangeably called the “kids’ programme” and “kids’ project.”² The JFA hosts these daylong, high-energy gatherings for preschoolers along with other events, such as “ladies and girls festivals” and “family futsal ,” several times per month in prefectures from Hokkaido to Kyushu.³ Uniqlo, Japan’s globally known clothing