(Tokyo) – The Japanese authorities’s Japan Sports Agency (JSA) ought to undertake insurance policies to advertise protected sports activities in Japan by ending abuses and discrimination in opposition to athletes, 12 nongovernmental organizations and people mentioned in a joint letter to Junichi Kawai, the JSA’s commissioner. Kawai, the previous chairman of the Japanese Paralympic Committee, was appointed commissioner efficient October 1, 2025.
On November 28, the signers urged the JSA to prioritize security in sports activities, calling it a essential step to guard athletes from all types of abuse. The signers embody, Athlete Save Japan, Human Rights Watch, Japan Safe Sport Project, Kantokuga Okottewa Ikenai Taikai, Sport for Creating Pathways Japan (S.C.P. Japan), Unisocc, and 5 athletes and specialists.
“Abuse against athletes, including children, has been normalized in sports in Japan,” mentioned Hanna Yumura, Asia officer at Human Rights Watch. “We are encouraged to see some progress but expect the JSA to take further action to adopt international standards and effective safe sport policies to protect all athletes.”
Human Rights Watch’s 2020 report, “‘I Was Hit So Many Times I Can’t Count: Abuse of Child Athletes in Japan,” paperwork using corporal punishment and systemic baby abuse in sports activities coaching from grassroots to high school to elite sports activities. The following 12 months, as a part of #AthletesTowardsAbuse, a global marketing campaign to cease abuse in sports activities, six main athletic and human rights organizations wrote to the JSA calling for the federal government to determine a Japan Center for Safe Sport.
A protected sport heart could be an unbiased physique tasked with addressing abuse in sport. Such a middle would permit athletes, dad and mom and youngsters to report abuse in an atmosphere that protects in opposition to retaliation. It would additionally allow the authorities to trace how the stories are dealt with to make sure the effectiveness of the criticism mechanism.
The authorities must also go a Safe Sport Act beneath articles 8 and 29(1) of the Basic Act on Sport, the organizations mentioned. Such laws would offer the authorized foundation for establishing the Japan Center for Safe Sport. It may additionally function a instrument to ban all types of abuse in sports activities by, for instance, obligating sport organizations to answer circumstances appropriately.
“A safe sport center and a Safe Sport Act will strengthen the protection of athletes in Japan from all forms of abuse and discrimination,” mentioned Shoichi Sugiyama, a lawyer for athletes’ rights and founding father of the Japan Safe Sport Project. “These institutions would enhance inclusiveness in sports, including welcoming those with disabilities and LGBTQ+ athletes.”
“This is a critical time,” mentioned Katsumi Mori, professor on the Faculty of Sports Humanities and Applied Social Science of the National Institute of Fitness and Sports in Kanoya. “In June, Japan revised the Basic Act on Sport, requiring the national government to adopt measures against abuse, and this can serve as a basis for introducing a Safe Sport Act in Japan.”
The Japanese authorities must also handle beating athletes in sports activities coaching and other forms of abuse in sport that may trigger lifelong trauma for youngsters and older athletes, the organizations mentioned.
“Every time a child steps on the field, they should feel safe and never have to worry about abuse or discrimination,” mentioned Yuiko Inoue, a former soccer participant and the consultant director of S.C.P. Japan. “The Japanese government has made efforts in this direction, but it is vital for this message to reach athletes, coaches, parents and officials across Japan: whether in school sports or elite sports.”
Source: Human Rights Watch