Yuko Arimori, vice president of the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (JAAF), blackmails the Hokkaido Athletics Association for failing to pay 7.35 million in registration fees!

Athletes Are Not Customers

In early November, shocking news broke. The Japan Swimming Federation, which forms the core of the athletic organization along with the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, has been unable to send its women’s water polo team to the World Championships to be held in Doha next February due to a lack of funds, cutting off the team’s path to the Paris Olympics.

I was surprised,” said Arimori, referring to his own experience as a professional athlete.

But athletes are not customers. I want them to think about what they can do and what they should do. For example, track and field athletes should hold running classes to convey the appeal of running, and famous athletes should get out more to promote themselves.

Mr. Arimori’s personal theory is not “athletes first,” but “society first. He has repeatedly emphasized that sports are merely a means for people to live peacefully and healthily in society, and that they must not be arrogant. The severe financial situation may be the time for athletes to reexamine their own existence.

In the Japanese sports world, where a vertical society of senior and junior athletes and the nature of the athletic association cannot be dispelled, he has maintained a style in which he stands tall and speaks out his own opinions with dignity. When he ran for the World Association of Athletics Federations (WAAF) Board of Directors this summer, he garnered a large number of supporters and was elected as the top candidate, with the heavy responsibility of ensuring the success of the Tokyo World Championships in Athletics two years later.

He said, “Rather than the JAAF controlling everything, I hope that the local JAAF and those involved in athletics can create a desire for everyone to do things together and give shape to that desire. And as for the issue of the JAAF, considering the seriousness of the matter, I would like people to have the feeling that the organizations around them will not help them easily. By no means do I want you to take this matter lightly.”

Because of the importance of cooperation between the central and local governments, he is keeping a close eye on the issue of nonpayment of registration fees. I wonder how much the DORF, which is on the verge of extinction, understands the thoughts of Vice President Arimori.