Photo/Illutration The Tokyo District Court in Chiyoda Ward (Asahi Shimbun file photo)

A former junior high school soccer coach in Tokyo was sentenced on Nov. 5 to 10 years in prison for sexually abusing his players. 

Takuya Yoshida, 30, groped four male members of the soccer team at a private school in the capital’s Katsushika Ward between 2021 and 2023, according to the Tokyo District Court ruling. 

Yoshida was found to have repeated abusive acts on a total of 14 occasions, including a nonconsensual sexual offense against one of the boys.

He also forced the students to film their genitals and share the images with him.

More than a hundred videos and images of the victims were found on his smartphone.

The verdict stated that the defendant’s actions were “clearly habitual and caused significant psychological distress” to the students.

The ruling also stated that the victims were unable to resist because the defendant held ultimate authority as the head coach and described the crimes as “despicable acts that abused his position of power.”

The court rejected Yoshida’s claim that his actions were not intended to satisfy his sexual desires.

Prosecutors had sought a 12-year prison sentence.

According to the National Police Agency, 175 cases of nonconsensual sexual offenses involving male victims aged 19 or younger were reported last year, an increase of 14 cases from the previous year.

However, this figure is significantly lower compared to the 2,409 reported cases involving female victims in the same age group.

Shin Fujiyama of the Japan Society for Sport and Gender Studies pointed out that sexual violence is often perceived in a gendered way, with men as the perpetrators and women as the victims, making it more difficult for society to identify male victims.

Fujiyama explained that there are particular challenges in sports settings that make it difficult for such incidents to come to light.

One key issue is the overwhelming power imbalance between coaches and athletes.

According to the verdict in the soccer coach’s case, the victims feared they would be excluded from games if they were disliked by the coach.

Fujiyama added that societal expectations, such as the idea that men should be strong and endure hardships, make it more difficult for male victims to recognize and report their abuse.

To prevent sexual abuse in sports, Fujiyama emphasized the importance of educating coaches about sexual violence and to make them aware of the issue.

He also stressed the need for systems of mutual oversight among coaches.

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