Volleyball enjoys spike in popularity thanks to Japanese manga

Volleyball is flying high in Japan thanks to a hit manga. 'Haikyu!!', which centres on school volleyball teams, has sold more than 60 million copies since 2012, been turned into a popular anime TV series and, more recently, a successful movie. Off the page and screen, official records show that membership in high-school boys volleyball clubs jumped from 35,000 in 2012 to more than 50,000 in 2024.