E-Sport is becoming increasingly popular in Japan

E-Sport is becoming increasingly popular in Japan, as shown by a tournament in which students from over 1,400 schools take part.

Although the World Health Organization (WHO) recognises gaming addiction as an addictive disease, various competitions were held during the summer season, including the nationwide high school competition “Coca-Cola STAGE: 0 eSPORTS High-School Championship 2019″organised by TV TOKYO and Dentsu Inc.

4,700 students took part in the e-sport tournament

Around 4,700 players from 1,475 schools across Japan took part in the preliminary rounds of Stage: 0, where the winners competed against each other in Urayasu on 14th and 15th August.

The competition began with Fortnite, in which 100 players took part. Two students from Shimofusa High School won the tournament.

Besides Fortnite, the games “Clash Royale” and “League of Legends” were also played.

According to a Kuraray survey this year, which looked at the type of professions children want to enter, e-sports are very popular with Japanese teens.

E-Sport is also under criticism

E-Sport has also been criticised, however, particularly for health concerns based on the WHO’s recognition of gambling addiction as a disease.

The two winners of this year’s “Fortnite” competition in Urayasu stated that they spent five hours a day practising.

“My parents support me,” said the young player. “I want to work hard and compete internationally next time,” he added.

The winning team will continue to train for their “e-sport dream”.