TOKYO: More than 40 percent of people in their 10s to 30s in Japan think that esports will be an Olympic sport in the future, a poll by Jiji Press showed.

Esports are increasingly getting attention as people can play them regardless of age and physical strength.

The Jiji Press survey found that 33.9 percent of respondents said they think that esports will be an Olympic sport in the future, while 30.8 percent said they do not think so.

The share of respondents who think that esports will be an Olympic sport in the future was 43.7 percent among those aged between 18 and 29 and 42.5 percent among those in their 30s.

The survey also showed that 48.0 percent of respondents think that esports will become popular as a sport and that 19.6 percent said they do not think so.

Respondents who think that esports will become popular as a sport accounted for 71.4 percent of those aged 18-29, while only 23.6 percent of those aged older than 70 said they think so.

The survey found that respondents who said they have watched esports competitions live online accounted for 7.7 percent. The share was 22.2 percent among those aged 18-29 and 20.5 percent among those in their 30s.

The International Olympic Committee last month approved plans to create Olympic Esports Games, whose first competition will be held in Saudi Arabia next year.

The Jiji Press poll was conducted on July 5-8, interviewing 2,000 people older than 18 years old, with 58.4 percent of them responding to the poll.

JIJI Press