The Japan Sports Agency has introduced a policy of granting at least two days of rest per week for sports teams at public and private junior high schools, in hopes of reducing the risk of injury for students by shortening their practice hours.
The policy, announced in March, also applies in principle to high school sports teams, but some coaches claim they already take students' rest into consideration.
Students on school sports teams also have mixed feelings, with some saying that while they are happy to get more rest, they also want to improve their skills.