One of Japan’s most popular sports tournaments is reeling after the sudden withdrawal of a team whose teenage players have been accused of abusing a younger teammate.
Koryo high school, which had been representing Hiroshima prefecture in the summer high school baseball championships, announced on Sunday it would no longer take part.
The team’s withdrawal comes after a public outcry over reports that several of its members had physically abused a junior player earlier this year. The event’s organising body issued a severe reprimand to the school in March after its internal investigation found that four students had assaulted a younger boy at a dormitory in January.
The revelations sparked a backlash on social media that included calls for the team’s expulsion, as well as a bomb threat and incidents in which Koryo students had been chased on their way to and from school.
The summer tournament at Koshien stadium near Osaka features 49 teams and is one of the highlights of Japan’s sporting calendar, drawing huge attendances and TV audiences in the millions.
The event, first held in 1915, has launched the careers of a string of famous Japanese baseball players, including the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani.
Koryo’s principal, Masakazu Hori, told reporters that the school had decided to withdraw to protect students and staff. Describing the assault case as “deeply regrettable”, he added: “We have decided to pull out, and will swiftly conduct an overhaul of our education method.”
The school’s investigation found that the unnamed boy had been shoved in the chest and slapped in the face, Japanese media said. He transferred to another school after his assailants apologised.
The school reported the incident to the federation, which issued a reprimand but did not initially make it public.
Police are reportedly investigating the January incident after the victim filed a complaint, and a third-party body is examining additional allegations made by a former member of the team.
The baseball team’s head coach, Tetsuyuki Nakai, has been relieved of his duties while the investigation is being carried out.
The education minister, Toshiko Abe, voiced “deep regret” over the “inexcusable” actions of the students, but warned social media users not to post unfounded allegations against people connected to the school.
It is not the first time that the tournament – Japan’s biggest amateur sporting event – has found itself at the centre of allegations of abuse, which critics claim lie in its refusal to ditch its regimented approach to sport.
In 2015, PL Gakuen high school, one of the tournament’s most successful teams, said it would stop recruiting new players after allegations of violence and bullying.
In 2023, the coach of another top team was forced to step down after being accused of physical abusing a player. And last month, players competing in a qualifying game for the Koshien tournament were ordered not to smile and wave at supporters during an opening ceremony, and instead march in an orderly fashion.
The tournament’s organiser, the Japan High School Baseball Federation, said it would “continue efforts to eradicate violence, bullying and unreasonable hierarchical relationships”.
Koryo, which has a tradition of producing professional players, is the first school in the tournament’s long history to withdraw after the games have started.
The withdrawal means that Koryo will forfeit its second-round game, which had been scheduled for Thursday. In a clip on social media, several members of the team Koryo defeated in their first-round fixture last week refused to observe the custom of shaking hands with their opponents at the end of the game.
