Japanese Olympian Claims Power Harassment by National Gymnastics Body

August 30, 2018

Tokyo- Olympic gymnast Sae Miyakawa has claimed that she suffered power harassment by the Japan Gymnastics Association, while complaining that the association's punishment on her coach for violence toward her was too severe.

"I felt that the association was trying to separate me and my coach," Miyakawa, 18, who participated in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, told a press conference on Wednesday.

Miyakawa held the news conference in response to the JGA's decision to disenroll the coach, Yuto Hayami, 34, for an indefinite period.

She admitted Hayami had behaved violently to her. But at the same time, she said, "I can't accept the severity of the punishment."

In addition, Miyakawa denied that she had been harassed by him.

Hayami has filed with Tokyo District Court for a provisional injunction against the punitive step.

According to Miyakawa, she was summoned in July by Chieko Tsukahara, the JGA's training chief for female athletes, and Tsukahara's husband, Mitsuo, who serves as vice president of the association, and urged to confirm Hayami's violent behavior.

Furthermore, Tsukahara threatened to deprive Miyakawa of chances to take part in any Olympics unless she gave such an affirmation.

Pointing out that those acts by the JGA executives amount to power harassment, Miyakawa demanded that the association admit their harassment against her.

At a separate press conference on Wednesday, another JGA executive Norifumi Yamamoto defended the punitive measure against Hayami.

"We will never allow violence even if the victim tolerates it," Yamamoto stressed.

Meanwhile, Yamamoto showed the association's readiness to launch investigation into the power harassment allegation by Miyakawa at her formal request. Jiji Press