National Training Center’s Player Supremacy at Risk as Shoko Miyata’s Drinking Issue Resurfaces

Shoko Miyata (19), a gymnast and representative for the Paris Olympics, resigned from the team after violating conduct standards, including smoking. It was also revealed that, despite being under the legal drinking age, she had engaged in drinking within the Athlete Village at the Ajinomoto National Training Center (NTC) in Kitaku, Tokyo.

“The issue began with an internal tip-off. There are voices saying that the penalty for withdrawing from the Olympics is too severe, but if she hadn’t been caught drinking at the NTC, she might have faced a lighter punishment. Ignoring drinking at the NTC would set a poor example for athletes from other sports, leading to a severe penalty meant to serve as a deterrent,” said an Olympic reporter from a sports newspaper.

The NTC opened in 2008. Before the establishment of the NTC, the adjacent National Sports Science Center (JISS) served as the hub for top athletes. Surprisingly, JISS was known among athletes as a place for encounters.

“In the past, there were several athlete couples born from encounters at JISS, such as Aiko Uemura (44), a mogul skier, and Kentaro Minagawa (47), an alpine skier, who developed their relationship during rehab and eventually got married. ‘FRIDAY’ once reported on a date between table tennis player Ai Fukuhara (35) and tennis player Kei Nishikori (34), noting that Fukuhara initiated the relationship with Nishikori at JISS, which led to their dating,” said a veteran sports writer.