Creating diversified values with new sports
Mizuho Information and Research Institute and KMD,
“Joint Creation of Superhuman Sports” Project
Superhuman sports are various games played by augmenting the human body through technological means. They have undergone major developments even in the short time since details were first shared at the KMD Forum in 2014. In addition to an increase in the numbers of competitors, “Hackathon” events to develop new types of sports have been held throughout Japan. As a result, somewhere in the region of 50 new sports have been created to date.
Of late, superhuman sports have also caught the attention of governmental and corporate entities. Kouta Minamizawa, at the time an associate professor at KMD, explains that: “This is a world in which anything has the potential to become a superhuman sport, and where everyone is a potential competitor. It is thought that a new industry involving people coming together to create new sports (co-creation) rather than the conventional model of just playing, spectating and supporting them is in its inception.”
In this context, Mizuho Information and Research Institute Inc. (MHIR) and KMD are jointly implementing surveys and research on the co-creation of sports. MHIR’s Hideharu Miyachi says: “As the thinktank for a financial group engaged with bringing new businesses and industries into being, we hope to demonstrate the link between the creation of new sports and the creation of new values, while involving various corporations in these endeavors.”
In 2017, we created the Hackathon, a platform to develop and experience new sporting events, on the basis of a survey of the history of how new sports have traditionally begun, while in 2018 we held an event to raise awareness of superhuman sports among people in various fields. A workshop to propose new sports themed on the social welfare, for example, saw the participation of people from a variety of industries, including advertising, manufacturing, real estate, construction, and education. “The limitless potential of superhuman sports mean that there is great merit in looking at them from a variety of perspectives. Sports involving augmenting the human body might, for example, change existing conceptions of the welfare.” (Associate Professor Minamizawa)
The challenge is to show people, especially those who have till now had no personal interest or investment in sports, the fun of creating new sports.
Mr Miyachi expands by saying “It is clear that people who do try these sports enjoy them immensely. If we can proceed on the two fronts of leveraging both cutting-edge technologies and those already at hand, I believe that interest in superhuman sports and the number of people wanting to take part will increase, further expanding the co-creation of sports.”
Forthcoming events such as the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics and the Osaka World Fair represent ideal opportunities to spread the message on superhuman sports to the world. We will continue to roll out experimental initiatives while seeking to elucidate the optimum form that these new sports and the industry which will grow around them should take as part of this project.
Mizuho Information & Research Institute Inc.
Management & IT Consulting Division
Chief Consultant Hideharu Miyachi
In Bubble Jumper, players on Skyrunner stilts, made of fiberglass springs that augment jumping performance, protect their upper body from impact with inflatable bubble protectors. Players crash into each other, and the one who forces the opponent down or outside the contest area wins.
(This article was written in March 2019.)