Japanese adults are exercising less, a recent survey by the Sasakawa Sports Foundation, a think tank in Tokyo, showed.

The 2024 survey found that 69.8% of respondents said they engaged in some kind of physical activity, such as taking a walk, at least once a year, the first reading below 70% since 2006.

The latest survey came after the Japanese government downgraded COVID-19 to a lower-risk category of infectious diseases that includes influenza in May 2023.