Japan opens HPSC ESPORTS LAB at Ajinomoto Training Center

The Japan Sport Council opened the HPSC ESPORTS LAB at the Ajinomoto National Training Center in Tokyo. The facility will apply sports medicine, exercise science and data analysis to support Japanese esports athletes and help them compete internationally.

The lab is housed in the Indoor Training Center East and is part of the High Performance Sport Center (HPSC). It operates in partnership with the National Institute of Sports Science (JISS), which conducts athlete research for HPSC. The facility adapts research methods used for Olympic and Paralympic athletes to esports competition.

The HPSC ESPORTS LAB is divided into three zones. The Esports Zone focuses on performance analysis and training protocols for conventional competitive titles. The Virtual Sports Zone studies events where a player’s physical movements are captured by sensors and translated into a digital environment. The Wellbeing Zone examines physical fitness, mental health and social factors to inform recovery and preparation.

The council noted that international sports organisations have shown growing interest in esports and that Japan is revising its national sports policy to include athletes who use digital technology. The council pointed to the expansion of international esports tournaments and the early use of sports science by some teams and organisations.

Recent investments in esports research and facilities elsewhere include a professional team’s in-house performance lab, a monitor maker’s donated esports lab with a university partner, a Canadian scholastic esports facility opened with a media and consultancy partner, and a €2.5 million, four-year research partnership announced in 2025 between a hardware company and an Irish research centre.

The council stated the HPSC ESPORTS LAB will centralize esports research within HPSC and provide coordinated resources for training, health monitoring and performance analysis.