March 19, 2013
The Executive Board of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) agreed on March 19 to issue 13 directives to the All Japan Judo Federation (AJJF).
A committee comprised of JOC Executive Board members and a third-party lawyer recently investigated allegations against the AJJF made by 15 current and former members of the women's national judo team. After a thorough review, the committee concluded that serious misconduct had occurred.
The directives include prohibition of violence or misconduct directed at athletes by coaches, the establishment of a framework for athletes to communicate concerns to the organisation's decision makers, clear and transparent procedures for selection of national team members, and the increased hiring of women as coaches and AJJF executives.
The Executive Board also decided to cut the AJJF's annual subsidy for team development in the fiscal year starting next month.
JOC has a zero-tolerance policy for any action that runs counter to the principles of Olympism and will take further initiatives in order to promote the Olympic Movement.
In a related effort to stamp out violence in sport, the JOC also announced that it has established an anonymous system for reporting any violence, harassment or misconduct in sports administered by Japan's national federations. The system includes telephone and fax numbers and an email address announced on the JOC website.
