Volleyball enjoys spike in popularity in Japanbr br Volleyball is flying high in Japan thanks to a hit manga. 'Haikyu,' which centers on school volleyball teams, has sold more than 60 million copies since 2012. It has 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.