About
What is 1252 Project?
1252 Project is an educational program that addresses various menstrual issues faced by female athletes. Partnering with top athletes, medical facilities, and educational fields, we aim to help students to gain the right information, advisory, and guidance about menstrual problems.
An athlete’s body needs appropriate conditioning to perform at its best during seasonal games and competitions. However, approximately 12 weeks out of 52 weeks (one year) of a female athlete’s body suffer from various menstrual symptoms that affect their performance.
Because the menstrual cycle and how it effects the body differ from person to person, this issue has been a “problem to be solved secretly and individually” for a long time. With the help of top athletes and experts in the medical and education fields, we will create an educational platform to gain the right information, advisory, and guidance about menstrual problems tailored for athletes.
We plan to provide online and on-site classes and seminars.
Our goal is to ensure that all female student athletes have accurate knowledge, access to support, and are able to lead a competitive life that allows them to reach their full potential.
Topics
Instagram（@1252project）
Female athletes are both students and athletes.
They balance school and sports, prepare for seasons and competitions.
And through all of it, they are also navigating the changes in their bodies.
There are 52 weeks in a year.
About 12 of those weeks come with physical changes linked to menstruation.
This is not something unusual. It is a reality of athletic life.
That`s why access to the right knowledge and support is essential.
So that every female athlete can compete to her fullest potential.
Not a career of pushing through — but one of performing at your best.
1252 Project is an education and awareness initiative tackling the challenges of periods × sports faced by female athletes.
Through online content as well as educational sessions—such as classes and seminars—we bring learning opportunities to top athletes, female athletes, and coaches alike.
Grounded in the lived experiences of top athletes and the expertise of medical and education professionals, we take on a topic that has long been dismissed as a "personal problem."
Our goal is to create a world where every female athlete has access to the right knowledge and support — and where talking about how periods affect sport is completely normal.
🎥 Hear it from the athletes themselves:
https://youtu.be/JvgfBlR7lkg?si=_bP5lIqmrLDX5anE
Every athlete`s menstrual cycle and physical changes are different.
And because of those differences,
it has long been treated as "a personal problem to solve alone."
But there are others out there feeling the same way—
wondering where to turn, with no one to talk to.
So it doesn`t have to be your problem alone.
1252 Project keeps sharing stories and speaking up.
＼ Column by Kota Mogami, Co-Representative of Never Stop Playing Sports／
Standing on site at Prix de Lausanne as an advisor,
one theme kept coming back to me:
Ballet and Sports—What is their connections with society beyond the stage?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The phrase “for the next generation” is often heard in the world of sports,
yet in practice, immediate results tend to take priority.
What struck me about the people at Prix de Lausanne was how clearly they shared a longer time horizon.
Rather than focusing on results within a single generation,
their decisions are made with the generations beyond in mind.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I’ve written up the real insights I felt on the ground as an article.
This is for everyone who works alongside the generation that will shape our future ✨
Read the full article here⬇️
https://spo-tome.com/en/02/19/2026/19834/
＼ Column by Kota Mogami, Co-Representative of Never Stop Playing Sports／
Standing on site at Prix de Lausanne as an advisor,
one theme kept coming back to me:
Ballet and Sports—What is their connections with society beyond the stage?
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
The phrase “for the next generation” is often heard in the world of sports,
yet in practice, immediate results tend to take priority.
What struck me about the people at Prix de Lausanne was how clearly they shared a longer time horizon.
Rather than focusing on results within a single generation,
their decisions are made with the generations beyond in mind.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
I’ve written up the real insights I felt on the ground as an article.
This is for everyone who works alongside the generation that will shape our future ✨
Read the full article here⬇️
https://spo-tome.com/en/02/19/2026/19834/
✨ 1252 Project × Prix de Lausanne — Official Partnership ✨
This initiative is being carried out in collaboration with MotionLab,
the official medical support organization for the Prix de Lausanne and its competition.
Our goal is not to make a statement — it`s to first understand the reality.
As a first step, we conducted a survey among participating dancers.
By understanding the individual condition of each dancer,
we aim to explore what kind of support and conversations can be made possible going forward.
Read the full article here ⬇️
https://spo-tome.com/en/02/18/2026/19776/
【Toin University of Yokohama, Faculty of Sports Science Report】
Here’s one of the initiatives happening in Japan 🇯🇵
At the partner university we introduced earlier,
we recently held a lecture & workshop with around 200 students
who aspire to become future sports coaches.
The theme was “period × sports.”
In Japan, there are still many moments in sports environments
where talking about periods feels uncomfortable or difficult.
During the lecture, we introduced the activities of
Never Stop Playing sports / 1252 Project,
a sports-focused social initiative born in Japan.
At the same time, Hanae Ito (@hanaesty)—
former Olympic swimmer and Representative Director of Never Stop Playing sports—
shared her own experiences from her competitive career 💪🏻
In the second half, through quizzes and workshops,
students worked together to think about:
“How should future coaches face and support female athletes’ periods?”
Starting from education,
we will continue to gradually expand sports environments
where no athlete is left alone, here in Japan 🌱
1252 Project has signed a partnership agreement
with Toin University of Yokohama, Faculty of Sports Science.
The Faculty of Sports Science is built on
expert knowledge in sports science and a broad educational foundation,
nurturing individuals who can proactively address
the challenges of modern society.
Through this partnership, our goal is clear:
Future coaches, trainers, and educators
gain the right understanding of “period & sports,”
and create environments where no athlete is left alone 💪🏻
Toward sports environments supported by knowledge and open dialogue—
not endurance or grit alone ✨
We take that first step from the educational field 😌
1252 Expert
1252 Expert is a certification exam to enhance the knowledge necessary to coach female athletes. It was developed to support female athletes from the environment by educating those involved in women’s sports, including coaches and school teachers. The exam consists of knowledge about female athletes, including menstrual issues unique to women. *This program is developed in Japanese only.
Talk up 1252
Talk up 1252 is a YouTube program where top athletes share their own period-related experiences. The importance to enhance the knowledge about periods is discussed through various sports and perspectives.
Talk about Periods that Male Coaches Should Know
Talk about Water Sports and Periods
Talk about Periods that Male Coaches Should Know
Talk about Water Sports and Periods
Members
1252 Project Leader
Hanae Ito
When I was a teenager competing on Japan’s national swimming team, my period was just “something that naturally came every month”.
I hadn’t thought about how it could affect my performance or mental health, I had no idea about PMS or PMDD, nor was I aware of the existence of the pill, its side effects, its safety, or how overseas athletes were using it with such control. I never thought that I would have regrets when I reached the Olympic stage.
When I think about it now, I feel that it was because at the time, there was no place that I could go to learn about menstruation nor anyone I could ask for advice.
For that reason, I want all female student athletes to know more about the topic.
Moreover, I would like mentors and male athletes to have the right knowledge too.
