A physical fitness test conducted by the Japan Sports Agency has shown that physical strength among female students at junior high schools in Japan is at its lowest since the survey started in fiscal 2008.

The fiscal 2023 test, the results of which were released on Friday, covered around 990,000 elementary school fifth-grade students and around 920,000 students in the second year of junior high school throughout Japan between April and July.

While the total score for physical fitness, which is calculated by adding up the scores for the eight practical skills tested, had been falling since fiscal 2019, the score for both male elementary and junior high school students rose in the latest survey.