The Japanese Olympic Committee said Tuesday that it has cut funding for the All Japan Judo Federation and ordered it to take preventive measures as punishment for coaches' abusive training of female judokas.
The JOC also cancelled a $260,000 annual subsidy for the federation for this year. The JOC directive also included a ban on violent coaching, more transparency in team selections and increased hiring of female coaches, the committee said in a statement. The JOC has also established an anonymous reporting system for any violence, harassment or misconduct in sports.
A committee of JOC executives and an outside lawyer have concluded after careful review that "serious misconduct had occurred" during judo training, the JOC said in a statement. "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."
The issue surfaced after 15 female judokas accused former national coaches of harassment and physical violence during training before the London Olympics.
Based on hearings of the whistleblowers, the committee said their former coach Ryuji Sonoda, a former world gold medalist in the men's 60-kilogram division, threatened the women by swinging around a stick in front of their face, cursed "drop dead" or called them "ugly" and other derogatory names, according to Japanese media reports. Sonoda resigned as coach after facing the allegation earlier this year.
A government research panel says there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 will occur off Japan's Pacific coast in the next 30 years. (NHK )
Weather officials say the average density of carbon dioxide in Japan is rising above the international standard at all 3 observation points in the country.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global warming. (NHK )
A 21-year-old woman was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend Friday at her apartment in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, where she lives with her current boyfriend, police said. (Japan Times )
The Diet passed a bill Friday to set up a system that will assign an identification number to every citizen to improve government management of income, social security and tax information despite public concerns about the potential for data abuse. (Japan Times )
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP )
At the Nagoya Castle compound in central Japan, restoration work has been completed on the entrance and reception room of the main residential building for the first time in 70 years. (NHK )
The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil )
Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press )
An 18-year-old youth has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old girl in the head with a baseball bat. (Japan Today )
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times )
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today )
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today )
A government research panel says there is a 60 to 70 percent probability that a massive earthquake with a magnitude of 8 to 9 will occur off Japan's Pacific coast in the next 30 years. (NHK 
) 
Weather officials say the average density of carbon dioxide in Japan is rising above the international standard at all 3 observation points in the country.
Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases associated with global warming. (NHK 
A 21-year-old woman was stabbed by her ex-boyfriend Friday at her apartment in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture, where she lives with her current boyfriend, police said. (Japan Times 
The Diet passed a bill Friday to set up a system that will assign an identification number to every citizen to improve government management of income, social security and tax information despite public concerns about the potential for data abuse. (Japan Times 
Keeping the meltdown-stricken Fukushima nuclear plant in northeastern Japan in stable condition requires a cast of thousands. Increasingly the plant's operator is struggling to find enough workers, a trend that many expect to worsen and hamper progress in the decades-long effort to safely decommission it. (AP 
At the Nagoya Castle compound in central Japan, restoration work has been completed on the entrance and reception room of the main residential building for the first time in 70 years. (NHK 
Tokyo Metropolitan Police on Wednesday raided an Internet casino in Shibuya Ward for offering illegal gambling. (Tokyo Reporter 
The government of Japan has bestowed one of that nation's highest honors on a Japanese-American, a former U.S. Soldier and World War II veteran, for his work furthering relationships between the Japanese and Americans. (army.mil 
Osaka District Court accepted a claim on Thursday that losses on betting on horse racing should be deductible from payouts to calculate taxable income. (Jiji Press 
Eighty-year-old Yuichiro Miura has become the oldest person to scale Mount Everest, his management office said Thursday. (Japan Times 
An 18-year-old youth has been arrested on a charge of attempted murder after he allegedly hit a 16-year-old girl in the head with a baseball bat. (Japan Today 
This Monday, members of the seminal metal band X Japan were in Odaiba rubbing shoulders with the likes of Brad Pitt, Lady Gaga and AKB48′s Yuko Oshima. The catch? They were all made out of wax. (Japan Times 
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism has announced that it intends to draw up a set of unified rules for the use of baby strollers on buses and trains. (Japan Today 
A man stabbed his ex-wife on a street in Isehara, Kanagawa Prefecture, on Tuesday morning, and then caused a car crash while he was fleeing from the scene. (Japan Today 
Japanese Crown Prince Naruhito will visit Spain for seven days from June 10, the government said Tuesday. (Jiji Press 