2 Years to Go: Clean Image of Japan Sports Tarnished before Tokyo Games

July 31, 2018

Tokyo- Revelations about a series of doping incidents involving Japanese athletes in recent years have shaken the very foundations of the Japanese sporting world and its reputation for fair play.

Many of the doping cases from cycling, swimming, speed skating and other sporting events are viewed as careless violations, with athletes thoughtlessly taking foreign supplements, which have a risk of containing banned substances.

It is undeniable, however, that such incidents have scarred the clean image that Japan had built over the years.

With two years to go until the 2020 Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, many are questioning the understanding of such issues among athletes and sports associations.

In January, revelations about the unprecedented misconduct of one canoeist came as a huge shock to many people, after the athlete spiked the drink of a rival to frame the latter for doping.

Toshihiko Furuya, a senior official of the Japan Canoe Federation, imposed the heaviest punishment of expulsion on the canoeist, saying that he regretted "not being able to reach deep down into (the athlete's) heart."

Furuya admitted that he had held back from getting involved, despite knowing about the athlete's weakness, as the canoeist was a mature athlete with a career stretching back years.

In response to the incident, the association introduced mental trainers to provide psychological care for athletes.

It also enhanced its structure, including setting up multiple seminars and individual interviews, to prepare for the future environment around athletes, who are expected to face severe stress over qualifying trials for the Tokyo Games.

For many athletes, the Olympic and Paralympic Games held in their own country are even more attractive.

Takeshi Matsuda, an Olympic medalist swimmer who retired two years ago and now serves as a member of the Japan Anti-Doping Agency's athlete committee, said that he would have liked to compete in the 2020 Games if he could.

As an athlete active during in an era of economic downturn, Matsuda had a hard time finding sponsors. By contrast, some athletes who do not reach the top level of their sports are receiving generous levels of support now that Tokyo has been decided to host the 2020 Games.

Some may choose the wrong path if they are desperate in the face of excessive expectations and attention from people around them.

Matsuda said that athletes may want to take supplements if such drugs help them to make progress.

"We have to be aware of the possibility of athletes having the weakness of buckling under pressure and reach the conclusion that they have to do something dishonest," he added.

Meanwhile, with an eye on the Tokyo Games, the Japanese Olympic Committee made a significant revision in its integrity education this year. The review includes expanding training programs for coaches and sports associations, which did not receive such education previously.

Daisuke Ueda, who serves as the JOC's education director, noted the importance of "sharing" to prevent misconduct from happening again.

At meetings of representatives from 41 sports associations, people involved in groups that had problems in the past serve as speakers and look back on topics such as the cause of such issues, how they handled them and what lessons they learned.

The meetings are the JOC's attempt to make sports associations learn from past failures. The JOC has received favorable feedback, including participants saying that these experiences were exactly what they wanted to know.

Ueda said that such education efforts will "remain a legacy from the intangible side" of the Tokyo Games, suggesting hopes that the efforts will become assets to Japan from the quadrennial sporting event. Jiji Press