Japan`s AJJF President Uemura to resign in June

finarashi wrote:If the AJJF truly separates from the Kodokan then Kodokan is furter marginalized in international Judo. Just at the time that Kodokan was back in the forefront of IJF.
But for japanese Olympic and WC aspirations mabe the change is for the better.

There's a whole other scenario possible, but for now Japan is too scared to really consider it, and that would be for Japan to leave and break away from the IJF and to start or join with another international federation that in the end would be strong enough to place a bid to gain recognition by its national and international Olympic Committee and effectively replace the IJF as IOC-recognized body for judo. The outcome is unpredictable especially in how long it would take and it would cause the considerable discomfort for the current leading athletes of possibly not being able to participate in the next Olympics. If, let's say, Japan would leave the IJF and join the World Judo Federation and take a head start using part of the structure in place (remember that the PJU is still there and that they used to be the recognized body for the America's) it's going to stir up something, and if they are followed by a couple of other Asian countries like Korea, there would be pandemonium in international judo. In the end all what Vizer would be left with is a couple of Eastern-European people who dressed in blue gi visit his Hungarian and Rumanian casinos to lose their money, while international judo --God forbid-- could become judo again.

[/quote]
text deleted.....................


while international judo  --God forbid-- could become judo again.[/quote]

Oh, if only !!

text deleted.....................


while international judo  --God forbid-- could become judo again.[/quote]
Oh, if only !![/quote]

Cichorei Kano wrote:...
There's a whole other scenario possible, but for now Japan is too scared to really consider it, and that would be for Japan to leave and break away from the IJF and to start or join with another international federation that in the end would be strong enough to place a bid to gain recognition by its national and international Olympic Committee and effectively replace the IJF as IOC-recognized body for judo. The outcome is unpredictable especially in how long it would take and it would cause the considerable discomfort for the current leading athletes of possibly not being able to participate in the next Olympics. If, let's say, Japan would leave the IJF and join the World Judo Federation and take a head start using part of the structure in place (remember that the PJU is still there and that they used to be the recognized body for the America's) it's going to stir up something, and if they are followed by a couple of other Asian countries like Korea, there would be pandemonium in international judo. In the end all what Vizer would be left with is a couple of Eastern-European people who dressed in blue gi visit his Hungarian and Rumanian casinos to lose their money, while international judo  --God forbid-- could become judo again.

I have no idea of the mechanism to do this, but I find that option, leaving the IJF and wandering in the wilderness for an indeterminate number of years (decades?) in Olympic-crazy, risk adverse, group / consensus think Japan to be almost unthinkable.

But Mrs. NBK is Japanese, and she does things unthinkable to me on a regular basis, so what do I know?

NBK

To me this sounds absurd if you think a bit. Any International registered body must be supported by > 50 % of nations to be the governing body. If > 50 % of nations do support some policy that we find absurd then new body will not make those > 50 % of nations to change their mind.

Without knowing anything associating with former PJU would be a wrong move. Associating with former XXX (put here any of the non afficilated bodies) would be a wrong move as we all know the particular reasons whe they are not affiliated.

Honestly and having high respect to individuals like Jimmy Pedro, we can't go on by admiring their dedication to competitive, elite Judo and then accusing them that they are dedicated to competitive, elite Judo and not the ideals of Kano i.e. developmet of individual. IJF is for competitive, elite Judo.

In democracy revolution does not make democracy more democratic.

[quote="NBK"]

The_Harvest wrote:
I can't imagine tackling the IJF is high on his priority list.  It's a loser anyhow unless there is a large change in the situation.

NBK

 

Asahi Shimbun 22Aug Interview with New President AJJF

Q&A
Opening comments: Upon request to assume this new responsibility, I thought a lot about it. As a judoka, trained in judo, my decision was like "picking up a chestnut from the burning fire". I like judo to restore trust and prepare an atomosphere wherein children can go to a Dojo with full of pride. I will change decisively what has to be changed which mostly have to do with a series of incidents in the past. I won`t change what I should not. These are the spirit of Kano Shihan as an educator and the spirit of Reisetsu (etiquette) where (judo) starts with Rei, ends with Rei.

Q: What do you tackle with first?
A: As regards lack of governonce as raised by the Prime Minister`s Office, I will change the rules & regulations that stupulate how Executive Committee, Directors` Meeting and Meeting of Representatives should be. I will as Mr Yamashita as Vice President to work hard on the issue of anti-violence and sexual harassment through his Committee. Should it happen again, I will see to it that there will be transparency and responsibility to explain exactly how happened, for which AJJF is accountable.

Q:What about relationships with the Kodokan with Mr Uemura as President?
A: Difficult to tell if AJJF is in a position to say how they should be. There are points of contact as far as day-to-day business is concerned. Further discussions on this point is in order.

Q:How do you see or evaluate the results of Men`s category in judo in London?
A:Something has to be done by all means. Such efforts are along the line of youth education. How to foster athletes capable of winning Gold medals is a matter to consolidate our knowledge.

Q:How did you look at the past incidents from outside?
A:Very deplorable. Illegal payment of subsidiary money must have been a long practice, which is beyond comprehension for ordinary people. I`m in complete agreement with the points raised by the 3rd Party Committee.

My comments: Looking at a list of new AJJF directors, Tokyo is taken out (meaning no representative), and also many directors are not necessarily "medalists" bet it home or international. Many Tokyo Univ. graduates are there (basically they are remote from competitive scene). Tenri survived but Chuo, Meiji dropped for good or bad reasons. Kaori Yamaguchi, known as Big Mouth, from Tsuba selected. Most directors of Ild AJJF resigned but retain their posts within the Kodokan. Now our attention is directed to how the Kodokan reacts to this (if not, it would cause problems at the top as well as down the line). Tokyo perhaps has the most Gold potentials, and have no say in the new setup. No question was asked about its relationship with IJF. Well-known fact is, Uemura made a fatal mistatke by calling President IJF for help which a majority of Japanese judoka would have detested.

NBK, please correct my translation where/if necessary.

http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000485556


The Yomiuri Shimbun Twenty-three directors of the All Japan Judo Federation, including President Haruki Uemura, and three auditors resigned en masse at an extraordinary board of directors meeting Wednesday to take responsibility for a series of scandals.

Six newly appointed directors will remain in their posts.

During a meeting at the Kodokan Judo Institute in Bunkyo Ward, Tokyo, the board of directors compiled a list of about 20 candidates for new directors.

They include Shoji Muneoka, 67, chairman and chief executive officer of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp., who succeeded Uemura; and Yasuhiro Chikaishi, 64, former chief of the Osaka prefectural police and now adviser at Toyota Motor Corp., who will become a senior director.

The lineup of candidates for new directors was approved at an extraordinary board of trustees meeting later in the afternoon based on recommendation by the board of directors.

Kaori Yamaguchi, 48, an associate professor at Tsukuba University, will serve as a new auditor.

Uemura, 62, and other top executives stepped down one month after the Cabinet Office called on the federation to revamp its organization following a series of scandals, including the alleged physical abuse of judoka on a national team by a former head coach and misappropriation of subsidies from the Japan Sports Council.

Muneoka is the first president of the judo federation who is neither a descendant of Jigoro Kano, founder of the martial art, nor an Olympic medalist.

After the extraordinary board of trustees meeting, a meeting of a new board of directors was held later in the day at which Muneoka was formally elected president.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, who won a gold medal in judo at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1984, became vice president.

The judo federation will hold the first meeting of its reform committee immediately after installation of the new leadership to discuss reform of the board of trustees, among other issues.

Cichorei Kano wrote:http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000485556

.....Muneoka is the first president of the judo federation who is neither a descendant of Jigoro Kano, founder of the martial art, nor an Olympic medalist.
....

But he is a Judoka. IMHO all previous ones have not been.

finarashi wrote:

Cichorei Kano wrote:http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000485556

.....Muneoka is the first president of the judo federation who is neither a descendant of Jigoro Kano, founder of the martial art, nor an Olympic medalist.
....

But he is a Judoka. IMHO all previous ones have not been.

I'm sorry ? Do you mean "all previous ones have not been" or "not all previous ones have been" ? As far as I know Uemura was a jûdôka ? At least that's what I gather from someone who is a past world champion (1975), Olympic champion (1976) and a Kôdôkan 9th dan holder. Am I missing something ?

Kuden, your English is fine - thank you for that.

I still think Mr. Chikaishi is a very interesting appointment, given Chairman Muneoka's comment on the illegal diversion of public funds above, namely:
' Illegal payment of subsidiary money must have been a long practice, which is beyond comprehension for ordinary people.'

He doesn't say improper, he calls it 'illegal', and 'long', and such is not beyond the comprehension of Mr. Chikaishi, who has pretty much seen it all, I reckon. I don't know what the statute of limitations on all this, but I am sure he does.

Chikaishi Yasuhiro - born 1949 (64yo) Kagawa-ken. U. Tokyo judo. Entered police in 1973. Head of Aichi-ken police, Organized Crime Unit Section Chief, Kanto regional bureau chief, etc. 2005 Osaka Prefectural Police Chief, retired 2007. Advisor, Toyota Automobiles. Judo 5dan.

It makes me wonder if there are other shoes yet to drop.

Chairman Muneoka talked a lot about a transparent organization and fixing the relationship with the IJF. He appointed a four person management team to work on things. He wants to revamp the board, which was unwieldy, way too big.

NBK

August 23, 2013

Hiroyuki Shimoyama and Kazuari Hirayama / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff WritersNippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. Chairman Shoji Muneoka has become president of the All Japan Judo Federation, shouldering the responsibility of rebuilding the scandal-tainted organization.

However, Muneoka’s predecessor, Haruki Uemura, has retained his post as president of Kodokan Judo Institute, an institution as powerful as the judo federation. The two organizations are sometimes likened to a pair of wheels that propel a vehicle together.

How will Muneoka cope with Uemura and Kodokan? All eyes are on whether he will be able to overcome Uemura’s influence.

At a press conference held Wednesday after he was appointed president, Muneoka was asked how well he knows Uemura and how much he intends to distance himself from his predecessor.

“I understand that Mr. Uemura will quit every AJJF-related post,” Muneoka said, indicating his intention to eliminate Uemura’s legacy in reforming the judo federation.

Muneoka was then asked what the relationship between the two institutions should be and whether he is willing to cooperate with Kodokan. Muneoka appeared to chose his words carefully, saying: “An AJJF president should not define how the relationship should be. It [Kodokan] is a different institution, so it’s difficult to answer to your question.”

However, he also added, “We do have communication channels, so I want to thoroughly discuss the issue [with Kodokan].”

Roles of AJJF, Kodokan

Kodokan was established in 1882 by Jigoro Kano, the founder of judo. The institution authorizes ranks, or dan, of judoka based on criteria such as the length of time a person has been practicing judo, their skills and competition results. The insitution’s major revenue source is fees collected from judoka who participate in tests to seek promotion to a higher dan.

The All Japan Judo Federation was established in 1949 to govern the competitive side of the sport. Its task is to train judoka and win medals at world championships and the Olympic Games. It is a member of the Japanese Olympic Committee and the International Judo Federation.

Judo circles have always striven to find an appropriate balance between promoting judo and boosting the skills of judoka for competition.

Some have said judo currently focuses too much on competitions, making it a hotbed for the recent scandals, including violence by coaches against athletes.

Muneoka said Wednesday: “What we must never change are the principles taught by Master Kano. One is manners, represented by the phrase, ‘[Judo] starts with a bow and ends with a bow,’ and the other is training young people who will eventually contribute to society.”

“Only after we achieve such goals will strong judoka be produced,” Muneoka added.

Based on such beliefs, Muneoka carefully chose other members of the board. Although he has practiced judo, Muneoka does not have a distinctive connection to the sport such as blood ties with the Kano family or a medal from the Olympic Games. His basic criterion in choosing other board members was to select people well versed in judo and outside society.

As a result, Muneoka chose Yasuhiro Yamashita as vice president, a former AJJF managing director and outstanding judoka who won a gold medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. For the post of senior managing director, Muneoka picked Yasuhiro Chikaishi, a Toyota Motor Corp. adviser who belonged to the same University of Tokyo judo club as Muneoka.

Hiromasa Uno, former chairman of the AJJF’s public relations committee, was chosen as general secretary. Appointing Uno, who also belonged to the University of Tokyo judo club, was one of Muneoka’s conditions for assuming the post of president.

As much as possible, Muneoka avoided reappointing people who served as board members under Uemura. Only six such people will again serve as AJJF board members under Muneoka, including Yamashita; Takao Kawaguchi, who serves as a referee commissioner of the International Judo Federation; and Shinji Hosokawa, chairman of the AJJF’s international relations committee.

They are all indispensable in dealing with the domestic and international issues the judo federation is now facing. Even heavyweights such as two-time Olympic champion Hitoshi Saito were not reappointed. Saito was managing director under Uemura.

Uemura has expressed his intention to also resign as a member of the IJF’s executive committee, raising concerns that there would be no Japanese on the committee. This may harm Japan’s diplomacy in the international judo community at a time when rules are being changed at the initiative of European countries.

However, Muneoka clarified his stance of not being dependent on Uemura in communicating with other countries, saying, “I will steadily establish other diplomatic channels.”

Meanwhile, participants’ fees from promotional tests will also become revenue for local judo associations. This means the AJJF’s regional representatives will need to pay attention to the intentions of the head of Kodokan—Uemura.

A new AJJF director said Muneoka would face an uphill battle in reforming the organization, saying: “Mr. Muneoka does not know the reality of the AJJF well. His tasks will be not easy.”

A decision maker

During Wednesday’s press conference, Muneoka discussed the revival of judo in a strong voice without pausing, while also taking notes. Such a clear-cut manner of speaking tends to be found among business executives, not at the top of a sports organization.

As a businessman, Muneoka is described as having the necessary leadership skills to draw people to him. He is also seen as a decisive person with a calm disposition and drive.

Muneoka was born in Yamaguchi Prefecture and raised in Tokyo. He used to keep a low profile in the judo circle, even though he once served as president of the All-Japan Businessmen’s Judo Federation.

Muneoka is third dan in judo, which he started practicing as a primary school student at the encouragement of his father. He served as captain of a judo club at the University of Tokyo, which is known for its tenacious style emphasizing ground techniques.

“I was very focused in judo practice,” Muneoka said of his involvement in the sport at the press conference. Asked why he decided to assume the post of an organization rocked by scandals, Muneoka cited what he has learned from judo.

“It taught me the importance of taking on challenges, and not running from them,” he said.

Muneoka served as the president of Nippon Steel Corp. when it merged with Sumitomo Metal Industries Ltd. in 2012 as the nation’s top- and third-ranked manufacturers in the field, respectively.

Muneoka reportedly led negotiations on the merger to conclude them in a short period.

These skills will be crucial for the judo federation, as it must swiftly implement uncompromising reform.


http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000488000

http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201308230039

EDITORIAL: Judo Federation leadership needs to change its mentality

After much ado, the scandal-ridden All Japan Judo Federation, which proved incapable of reforming itself and left problems unresolved, decided to make a fresh start.

Having appointed an outsider as chairman for the first time, it finally appeared to be poised to regain trust.

The new chairman, Shoji Muneoka, is chairman and chief executive officer of Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal Corp. As a student, he belonged to the University of Tokyo’s judo club. At his inaugural news conference, Muneoka cited judo founder Jigoro Kano (1860-1938), saying, “It is important to rebuild judo by going back to its starting point such as education and the spirit of courtesy.”

However, the path to reform is expected to be rough. First, the federation is required to demonstrate tangible results in its reforms by the end of August in response to the Cabinet Office’s admonition.

With the resignation of 23 directors, including former chairman Haruki Uemura, the federation is just putting up a front. But it needs to promptly present a substantive reform plan centering on steps to regain its governance.

In addition to returning government subsidies amounting to 60.55 million yen ($624,000) that it had unjustly received and used, the federation is required to clarify who was responsible for the irregularities.

Since Muneoka will be serving as chairman on a part-time basis, the federation appointed Yasuhiro Chikaishi, a former chief of Osaka prefectural police and Muneoka’s junior in the University of Tokyo’s judo club, as executive director and Hiromasa Uno, who heads the federation’s public relations committee, as secretary-general.

The federation’s persistent problems had something to do with its closed nature, in which old boy networks and past achievements of retired judoka carried a lot of weight. How the new federation will work with its new vice chairman, Yasuhiro Yamashita, who is also vice president of Tokai University, will be important in terms of reinventing itself.

What we find worrisome is the reaction within the judo world. It had to bring in an outsider to head the federation.

While the federation renewed its leadership and board of directors, the board of trustees, which constitutes its supreme decision-making organ, has left the question of responsibility for the series of scandals unanswered. Although a number of trustees proposed that all members resign en masse, the board of trustees failed to reach a conclusion.

Instead, it simply reshuffled the board of directors and left the task of organizational reform to the new board. This seems to suggest a lack of awareness that dealing with the scandals and implementing steps to reform are the trustees’ own responsibility.

Changing the mentality of the entire federation, which failed to demonstrate the ability to clean itself up, is the most important theme the new leadership needs to grapple with.

Originally, the federation was part of Kodokan, the headquarters of the judo community, and later became an independent body as the branch that oversees matches and handles the strengthening and dispatch of athletes to international competitions.

Even now, the influence of Kodokan, which has the absolute authority to certify dan, or judo rank, remains substantial.

Referring to the ambiguous line between the two organizations, Muneoka said: “Although the two are different entities, I hope to promote discussions.” Including the propriety of having former federation chairman Uemura remain at the head of Kodokan, we urge the federation to also adopt measures to firmly establish its independence.

--The Asahi Shimbun, Aug. 23

NBK wrote:

Cichorei Kano wrote:...
There's a whole other scenario possible, but for now Japan is too scared to really consider it, and that would be for Japan to leave and break away from the IJF and to start or join with another international federation that in the end would be strong enough to place a bid to gain recognition by its national and international Olympic Committee and effectively replace the IJF as IOC-recognized body for judo. The outcome is unpredictable especially in how long it would take and it would cause the considerable discomfort for the current leading athletes of possibly not being able to participate in the next Olympics. If, let's say, Japan would leave the IJF and join the World Judo Federation and take a head start using part of the structure in place (remember that the PJU is still there and that they used to be the recognized body for the America's) it's going to stir up something, and if they are followed by a couple of other Asian countries like Korea, there would be pandemonium in international judo. In the end all what Vizer would be left with is a couple of Eastern-European people who dressed in blue gi visit his Hungarian and Rumanian casinos to lose their money, while international judo  --God forbid-- could become judo again.

I have no idea of the mechanism to do this, but I find that option, leaving the IJF and wandering in the wilderness for an indeterminate number of years (decades?) in Olympic-crazy, risk adverse, group / consensus think Japan to be almost unthinkable.

But Mrs. NBK is Japanese, and she does things unthinkable to me on a regular basis, so what do I know?

NBK

Of course, you are correct, and I was mentioning only a theoretical option. However, I also have to keep thinking about the following. When I was still very actively involved in karate in the 1970s in the West there really there were only 5 federations or so. You had JKA, WKA for Shôtôkan, you had the guys from Gôjû-ryû doing their thing, we in Kyokushinkai did our thing, and you had Wadô-ryû. That was about it. We now 45 years further and even some of the most hardline Shôtôkan guys, like Kanazawa Hirokazu now have their own federation. At the time, if you were out JKA you were a dissident unless you were Kyôkushinkai or Gôjû-ryû which were considered legitimate outside JKA because they were not Shôtôkan. But today, even the term 'dissident' has little meaning in karate since there are so many federations.

Take aikidô. At the time, OK, there was Tomiki, we all knew that the rest was all one. I think that Yoshinkan with Shioda was formed only in 1990, and Kôichi Tôhei split off only in 1974, but all the rest like Tamura Nobuyoshi or Saitô Morihiro were all with the Aikikai as one happy family. Aikidô was considered VERY conservative, but look today, like karate there are God knows how many federation.

Certainly none of these federations have still one uncontested international parent organization. This is what the evolution shows. That judo has been able to avoid this for that long is remarkable. One reason probably is the mandatory national federation membership of the national olympic committee and of the IJF if you want to compete in the Olympics, and so far no one country seems to willing to temporarily risk that privilege. However, IF a few federations start believing they have sufficient support to pull of such national NOC recogntion and re-assemble an alternative international federation that is strong enough to challenge the IJF as Olympic representative for judo, then that is a different matter. I don't think that even the IJF's current Olympic privilege makes the IJF bullet proof. It can keep claiming that other organizations are 'dissident' and that ranks issued by any other organization are fake and that there members don't know any jûdô even if just a week earlier these same member might have been members of an IJF federation (or might even be prior IJF continental, world or Olympic champions and IJF- high-dan rank holders) and considered among the best. The IJF knows how to flex it muscles. The WMJA has experienced that, but the IJF also thinks that it is immune from everything else, and I doubt it really is.

There has been remarkable centrification in karate in Finland after karate started to apply to be Olympic sport. Yes there is still different fractions, but if you want money from governement you must associate yourself witht the national federation. So my expactation is that given time there will be just a single federation.

But yes wushu, wingwhatever etc. are still independent.

Cichorei Kano wrote:.....Take aikidô. At the time, OK, there was Tomiki, we all knew that the rest was all one. I think that Yoshinkan with Shioda was formed only in 1990, and Kôichi Tôhei split off only in 1974, but all the rest like Tamura Nobuyoshi or Saitô Morihiro were all with the Aikikai as one happy family. Aikidô was considered VERY conservative, but look today, like karate there are God knows how many federation.
......

I think aikido was never so unified as one might think.

AFAIK the Yoshinkan was established in the 1950's, separate from the Aikikai; the national and international Yoshinkan-related organizations were established in 1990. And it looks like it's imploded - many senior people left, and apparently Shioda Yasuhisa kancho himself, Shioda kancho's son, left in 2012 - I was invited by his elder brother and he gave me a private demo using the Kenshu students, it must have been one of his very last.

Ever since aikido was founded there have been aikido splinter groups, it's just that most had very little international presence or recognition, often very little even in Japan. Aikido Journal's Stanley Pranin has documented most everything worth writing about.

The hardcore Korindo Aikido, the approved Butokukai aikido style, of the remarkable Hirai Minoru sensei's bunch, now led by his grandson, has evolved into the hombu dojo, an historic place, plus university study group, very soft and pedestrian.

There is even still a Tokyo remnant of the original group taught by Inoue Noriaki, the nephew of Ueshiba Morihei sensei, who had a very strong style.

Tomiki sensei's Shudokan Aikido organization is or has already fallen apart - strong personalities geographically separated and disagreements over 'how sensei taught' and how to effectuate his vision of competition, I think.

Entropy rules.....

鑓

NBK wrote:[
I think aikido was never so unified as one might think.  

AFAIK the Yoshinkan was established in the 1950's, separate from the Aikikai; the national and international Yoshinkan-related organizations were established in 1990.  And it looks like it's imploded - many senior people left, and apparently Shioda Yasuhisa kancho himself, Shioda kancho's son, left in 2012 - I was invited by his elder brother and he gave me a private demo using the Kenshu students, it must have been one of his very last.  

Ever since aikido was founded there have been aikido splinter groups, it's just that most had very little international presence or recognition, often very little even in Japan.  Aikido Journal's Stanley Pranin has documented most everything worth writing about.  

The hardcore Korindo Aikido, the approved Butokukai aikido style, of the remarkable Hirai Minoru sensei's bunch, now led by his grandson, has evolved into the hombu dojo, an historic place, plus university study group, very soft and pedestrian.  

There is even still a Tokyo remnant of the original group taught by Inoue Noriaki, the nephew of Ueshiba Morihei sensei, who had a very strong style.

Tomiki sensei's Shudokan Aikido organization is or has already fallen apart - strong personalities geographically separated and disagreements over 'how sensei taught' and how to effectuate his vision of competition, I think.  

Entropy rules.....

鑓    

If so, and there are even more aikidô organizations, and the aikidô landscape is even worse than I might have thought, then it adds only to the point I was trying to make that we see this evolution of increasing fractions in all gendai budô, and that it may then not be so utopian to think that the IJF is not immortal. I believe taekwondô is a pretty big mess too.

Then again who knows ? Maybe in the end all and everything will be taken over by the ninja who will control judo and the entire world with nothing else but their ki ?