Sports medicine originates from Europe, and Japan is a developing country in this field. YS experienced medical support as a team physician, both in Japan and Europe. Several differences were observed between sports medicine in Europe and Japan. Firstly, the background of team physicians is different; team physicians in Japan are orthopedists, while they are sports physicians in Europe. Secondly, sports participants have to do periodic health evaluations before they start sports, even at

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... levels, but this is voluntary in Japan. Thirdly, surveillance of injuries and illnesses and injury prevention strategies are well-developed in Europe compared to Japan. Lastly, emergency systems are more advanced in Europe than Japan. Here, we describe these differences based on personal experience and a review of the literature.