ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the relationship between physical activity (PA) of moderate to vigorous intensity (MVPA) andikigaiin older Japanese adults. We evaluated the amount of PA using an activity meter equipped with a three-axis accelerometer. The measured activities were classified into locomotive PA and non-locomotive PA to clarify not only the relationship between MVPA andikigai, but the types of activities that lead to increasedikigaias well.MethodsParticipants were 86 community-dwelling older adult Japanese men and women. Measurement items included basic information (age, sex, BMI, and the number of underlying diseases), PA, Self-completed Occupational Performance Index (SOPI), andikigai(the K-1 Scale). Confounding factors presumed to be related to ikigai were also elicited from previous studies. Associations of ikigai into three groups (high, middle, and low) with PA were analyzed by group comparisons and multivariate analyses.ResultsThe comparison of PA indices among the high, middle, and lowikigaigroups revealed that non-locomotive MVPA is significantly associated withikigai(p< 0.05). In multiple comparisons, the lowikigaigroup was significantly and negatively affected by non-locomotive MVPA (p< 0.05) compared to the middle and highikigaigroups. Furthermore, in a multivariate analysis withikigaias the dependent variable and sex, age, locomotive MVPA, and non-locomotive MVPA as independent variables, only non-locomotive MVPA (p< 0.05) was associated.DiscussionThese results suggest that non-locomotive MVPA is effective in enhancingikigai.