Japanese athletes at the Paris Summer Olympics also cannot escape the insults and criticism posted on social media.

The situation has become so severe that the Japanese Olympic Committee on Aug. 1 released a statement, saying it “will consider reporting any excessive content to the police or taking legal action.”

As of Aug. 5, the JOC had received about a dozen inquiries from athletes about the online abuse.

One barrage of criticism from Japanese “fans” was over a competitor’s strategy to improve her chances of winning a medal for her home country.

After finishing 13th in the mixed relay race walk event on Aug. 7, Ayane Yanai said: “It’s best to ignore the slanderous posts. I thought it was better not to look at them.”

She came under fire after July 29, when the Japan Association of Athletics Federation announced that Yanai and another female athlete would withdraw from the individual events to focus on the relay events.

“I want to concentrate on one (event) and aim for a medal,” Yanai posted on her X account that day.

She was criticized on social media for being “selfish” and other things.

Later, Yanai posted on X: “I become extra nervous and sensitive before the race. Criticism hurts the athletes.”

In some cases, the JOC said it has asked social media platforms to remove such comments.

Shoichi Sugiyama, a lawyer who specializes in sports and human rights issues, said, “Insulting the athletes may violate criminal laws on defamation in certain cases, and it may be a tort under civil law for which damages can be sought.”

Sugiyama has worked on countermeasures against defamation targeting professional baseball players, identifying malicious posters and negotiating settlements with them.

But the reality is that it’s like playing “whack-a-mole,” he said.

He said it is more important for competition organizers and athletic organizations to take countermeasures.

For the Paris Games, the International Olympic Committee has introduced a detection system that uses artificial intelligence (AI) to protect athletes from libel on social networking sites in more than 37 languages.

However, the system is insufficient, as defamatory posts have reached the athletes, including competitors in women’s boxing.

“Just as companies have a duty to protect their employees, competition organizers and athletic organizations should also bear the responsibility and costs of protecting athletes from harm,” Sugiyama said.

Spain’s Francisco Garrigos, who defeated Japan’s Ryuju Nagayama in the quarterfinal of the men’s 60-kilogram event in judo, has received much criticism for continuing a choke hold after the referee called “mate” (wait).

In response, Nagayama on July 30 posted a photo of him and Garrigos together on social media with a message, “This is the result of both of us fighting hard, so please refrain from slandering Garrigos.”

Miyako Tanaka-Oulevey, a sports psychologist and former synchronized swimmer who won a bronze medal at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, noted that some fans get too wrapped up in sporting events.

“There are people who take the loss of an athlete they support as if it were their own and become angry. This, combined with a warped sense of justice, leads them to believe that attacking the opposing athlete and others is the right thing to do,” she said.

But Tanaka-Oulevey said, “Emotions themselves are not necessarily bad.”

Instead of taking their negative sentiments out on someone else, she recommends that people express their frustrations to someone close or write down their angry feelings in a notebook.

Expressing one’s dissatisfaction in words helps one to feel calm, Tanaka-Oulevey said.

Uta Abe, who sobbed and froze immediately after her loss in the women’s 52-kg judo event, became a target of insulting and critical social media posts.

Later at a news conference, Abe said, “Even though I did not want to see them, I still saw them.”

In preparation for the following mixed team event, Abe said, “I made mental adjustments, valuing the words of those close to me who support me on a regular basis.”

Tanaka-Oulevey has a message to sports viewers: “I want them to remember that even the best athletes are human beings with feelings.”

(This article was written by Yuko Kawasaki, Saori Kuroda and Hiroshi Nakano.)