“I would like hide-and-seek to be one of the exhibition sports in 2020 and then it could become an official event at subsequent Olympics,” Hazaki, a professor of media studies at Josai International University, told The Daily Telegraph.

Prof. Hazaki set up the Japan Hide-and-Seek Promotion Committee in 2010 and the organisation has around 1,000 members across the country. Many are university students, but the sport can be enjoyed by anyone, he emphasises.

“I want to encourage sport for all, meaning that anyone can take part, regardless of age, gender or ability,” he said. “When you watch sport now, it’s all about world-beating techniques and skills – fantastic dribbling, running or shooting skills in football, for example.