Unveiling Hokkaido’s Athletics Association: A Tale of Embezzlement and Misuse
On the 18th, the Hokkaido Athletics Association, a public interest corporation (hereinafter referred to as the Association), held a board meeting in Sapporo.
As of the end of March, the Association had not paid the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (hereinafter referred to as the JAAF) ¥7,352,500 in athlete registration fees for the fiscal year 2022. According to the Hokkaido Shimbun, during this board meeting, it was reported that a male employee in his 40s, who was in charge of accounting at the time, had embezzled ¥24.6 million. Furthermore, regarding the unpaid registration fees, it was decided that they would be paid using money borrowed from a local athletics association in Hokkaido by the end of this month, and a settlement was reached with the Association regarding repayment plans, with no intention to pursue criminal charges.
FRIDAY Digital obtained a document from the Association’s board meeting held on March 2nd. In an article published on April 12th, it was reported that the male employee was dismissed at the end of last year due to suspicion of personal misuse of the Association’s money, including registration fees collected from athletes. The document obtained depicts the Association’s dire financial situation. The same article is reprinted here.
The Hokkaido Athletics Association (hereinafter referred to as the Association) has been found to have not paid ¥7,352,500 in athlete registration fees to the Japan Association of Athletics Federations (hereinafter referred to as the “JAAF”) for the fiscal year 2022, and this remains unpaid even after the fiscal year 2023 has passed. Furthermore, it was revealed that the Chairman of the Association, Mr. Marunoboru, resigned from his position midway through his term to take responsibility, and from March 2nd, Mr. Ryoku Itani, the vice chairman, has been promoted to acting chairman. It was also revealed that administrative staff had been dismissed at the end of last year.
In the “Report and Apology” posted on the Association’s website, apologies were made for the unpaid registration fees, improper expenditure of savings, and falsification of accounting documents. It was stated that the root cause was chronic deficit management and haphazard financial management, and that it has been difficult to clarify the actual situation.
Registration fees are not just membership fees; they are a necessary condition for participating in competitions, and Article 8 of the JAAF Membership Regulations states that registration fees must be paid, which applies to middle and high school students as well. The Association was unable to pay the registration fees of ¥7,352,500 for the fiscal year 2022 within the fiscal year, and had received repeated reminders from the JAAF. Furthermore, in November last year, Ms. Yuko Arimori, vice chairman of the JAAF and also a director of World Athletics, in an interview with FRIDAY Digital, expressed her hope that the Association would recover through self-help efforts, saying, “If I were a child in Hokkaido, I would be angry,” and “I hope they understand that the surrounding organizations won’t easily come to their aid.”
Regarding the reason for non-payment, the Association stated, “Due to the decrease in income due to the COVID-19 pandemic, increased expenditures due to the relaxation of competitions in 2022, and the burden of related expenses for the Inter-High School Championships, payment has been delayed.” However, there were suspicions raised by some stakeholders that there may have been personal misuse by administrative staff.
FRIDAY Digital has recently obtained documents from the Association’s board meeting held on March 2nd. At the bottom of the document, it is stated, “The contents of (1) to (10) above should not be disclosed until an official interim report is issued.” This indicates that the document is highly confidential.
The column “(4) Regarding the dissolution of the corporation” in the document detailed the Association’s grim financial situation.
Since the revelation of the unpaid registration fees, the Association’s dire financial situation has been a topic of discussion. If a general incorporated association’s net assets fall below ¥3 million for two consecutive terms, it is stipulated that it shall be dissolved (Corporation Act, Article 202(2)), leading to the disappearance of its legal status, as clearly stated in the document.
“Before Reiwa 4, it is necessary to redo the settlement of accounts, but with a situation where more than ¥20 million has been lost, the net assets are not secured to be more than ¥3 million.”
“(Omitted) It will be impossible to maintain the general incorporated association without about ¥20 million in money other than borrowing.”
Furthermore, there is noteworthy content written as one of the solutions.
“The possibility of maintaining the general incorporated association depends on whether administrative staff repay the unaccounted-for money or not.”
In other words, if the Association’s staff can repay the money they took out through unofficial means, the net assets of ¥3 million can be secured. Therefore, it can be interpreted that the Association is hoping for this to happen.
