The Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF) issued a Human Rights Policy and an Integrity Code of Conduct on August 26, 2025, forward of the 2025 World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, which opened on September 13.
Abuse towards males, ladies, and even youngsters in Japanese sports activities has lengthy been prevalent. The launch of the coverage and the code of conduct comes two months after Japan’s parliament handed an modification to the Basic Act on Sport that obligates sports activities organizations to make efforts to forestall abuse towards athletes.
Human rights insurance policies stay uncommon amongst Japanese sports activities organizations. Prominent sports activities organizations such because the Japan Football Association and the Japan Rugby Football Union have launched solely restricted safeguards to guard youngsters and girls.
The JAAF’s Human Rights Policy states that it’ll stop and prohibit human rights violations, together with bodily abuse and harassment. The coverage additionally calls on everybody concerned in sport to uphold human rights that aren’t solely protected in home regulation but in addition in worldwide human rights regulation, such because the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The Integrity Code of Conduct requests that every one these concerned in athletics promote an surroundings free from harassment and abuse. It notably seeks to forestall sexual harassment of athletes by coaches and others.
However, these human rights insurance policies include a major hole. They don’t specify the measures wanted to be taken in circumstances of violations, nor do they supply an impartial and efficient grievance mechanism that might alleviate issues about retaliation for reporting abuse.
To tackle the hole, Japanese teams ought to look to the increasing worldwide Safe Sport motion, such because the impartial entities liable for addressing athlete abuse which have been established in some nations, together with the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
The revised Basic Act on Sport requires nationwide and native governments to undertake measures towards abuse in sport. The Japanese authorities ought to set up an impartial physique tasked with addressing youngster abuse in sport. Athletes ought to be capable of safely search help in the event that they expertise abuse, and the physique ought to encourage sports activities organizations to strengthen their human rights insurance policies to guard and promote athletes’ rights.
Source: Human Rights Watch