Low Referee Standards Cause Disarray in Paris Olympics Judo

Judo is the only sport that originated in Japan that is practiced in Japan, and it has been called Japan’s home specialty. However, at the Paris Olympics, the medals won by the men’s and women’s individual and mixed teams were three gold, two silver, and three bronze. In the team competition on the final day, they lost to France, the host country and with four times the number of judo athletes than Japan, and won the silver medal. The medal count was down significantly from the record number of gold medals won at the previous Tokyo Olympics in 2009 (9 gold, 2 silver, and 1 bronze).

One of the reasons for this is that the level of judo competition has “bottomed out” in many countries around the world. However, the Japanese team’s victory or defeat was particularly determined by a number of “misjudgments” by the judges.

The most controversial of these was the quarterfinal between Nagayama Tatsuki (28) and Francisco Gallegos (29) of Spain, who competed in the men’s 60 kg category on the first day of the judo competition.

After a stalemate in the Newaza attack, the referee, Elizabeth Gonzalez, 37, of Mexico, called “wait,” but Gallegos continued the choke hold for several seconds, resulting in Nagayama’s fainting. As a result, Nagayama blacked out and lost by ippon.

Gallegos said he didn’t hear the ‘wait,’ but the chief referee had to break in between them when Gallegos was continuing his stranglehold. Such a thing is common knowledge if you are a judo referee, but the referee’s level was too low.

In international judo competitions, in addition to the chief referee, there are two assistant referees and three referees (supervisors) who make video judgments, but it is the chief referee who has immense power. The chief referees for the Olympics are 16 people nominated by the judo federations of each continent, but there is currently too much of a gap between the top and bottom levels, and the “order” on the tatami mats is in disarray.

Even in such a situation, Ms. Akiko Amano, 53, who served as the only Japanese referee following the Tokyo Olympics, was steady, dignified, and accurate in her judging. It will be difficult to increase the number of Japanese referees, but the International Judo Federation (IJF) will have a major task to train referees in order to reduce the number of “misjudgments” at future international competitions,” said a sports newspaper reporter covering the Olympics.

In judo, there was a double standard: IJF rules for international competitions such as the Olympics, and Kodokan rules for domestic competitions under the jurisdiction of the All Japan Judo Federation (ZENJU-ren).

The IJF revised various rules, including the introduction of blue judogi for easier recognition by both competitors, whereas originally only white judogi was allowed. These include the prohibition of holding the opponent’s body from the obi down, the loss of three “shido” points for a foul, the abolition of “oka” and “eka,” which are points below “giri,” and the reduction of the time required for “ippon” and “giri” for holding a competitor down in Newaza.

Of course, there are advantages and disadvantages for Japanese fighters due to the rule revisions, but there are still some major differences from the international rules in Japan. In Japan, however, there are draws in team competitions, and in the All-Japan Championships, where the match ends with both fighters on equal points, the match is decided by a flag decision by the referee and the assistant referee.

If Japan had been a power in the IJF, it might have been able to have elements of the Kodokan rules introduced, such as the introduction of draws in team competitions. At present, however, Japan has no political or diplomatic power in the world judo world, and although it is the birthplace of judo, it is not in a position to provide “educational guidance.

The reason for this was that Yasuhiro Yamashita, 67, a gold medalist in the men’s open-weight category in judo at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, was unsuccessful in his bid for the IJF’s board of directors in September 2007. Yamashita is a legend in the world of judo who retired with an unprecedented 203-match winning streak and was named “the strongest man in Japanese judo” and awarded the National Medal of Honor. Since the late Shigeyoshi Matsumae, founder of Tokai University, served as IJF president from 1979 to 1987, there has not been a Japanese IJF president, and Yamashita could not have been more qualified for the position based on his achievements and accomplishments in the world of judo. ……

Mr. Yamashita felt responsible for the misjudgment of Shinichi Shinohara, 51, for a silver medal at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, when he was the men’s judo coach, and decided to take action. He ran for the position of Director of Education and Coaching at the IJF General Assembly in 2003 and was elected. He worked to reform international judo competitions, including the rules.

However, in 2007, he ran again for the IJF’s board of directors for education and coaching, but was defeated by a candidate from Algeria. At that time, Yamashita’s opponent was reportedly supported by Marius Bizert, 65, who won the IJF presidential election that same year and took office.

Nevertheless, in order to bring Japan into the fold for the Tokyo Olympics, Mr. Bizert suddenly reinstated Mr. Yamashita as a board member in ’15 under the authority of the president, and he continues to serve as a board member today. However, since he did not win the election to the Board of Directors, he has no voting rights. In other words, he is a “decoration” without the right to speak. Before that, Mr. Yamashita’s English is not very good, so he has not been able to compete on equal terms with powerful political figures from abroad.

Mr. Bizele was born in Romania, moved to Austria, struggled to make a fortune in the casino business and other businesses, and used his abundant financial resources to maintain his grip on power in the IJF, creating a near-dictatorial regime. At the behest of Mr. Bizert, mixed team competitions were newly introduced as an Olympic event in judo competitions at the Tokyo Olympics, following the World Championships. Computerized lotteries were introduced from the Tokyo Olympics for the selection of the representative teams’ classifications, and the roulette system of staging was introduced from the Paris Olympics.

In the mixed team final between Japan and France at the Paris Olympics, the “digital roulette” to decide who would compete in the national team match, which came down to three wins and three losses, decided on the “men’s over 90-kilogram weight class. France’s competitor in the same weight class was Teddy Riner (35), a national hero who won the gold medal in the over 100-kilogram weight class at this year’s Games. As a result, Japan’s Tate Saito (22) suffered an ippon loss, and France was awarded the mixed team gold medal following the Tokyo Olympics. In response to this, some in Japan suspected that the draw had been rigged, and criticisms of “cheating” erupted on social networking sites.

Yamashita’s term on the IJF Board of Directors expires next June. Yamashita’s term on the IJF Board of Directors ends next June, but he is currently recuperating from a cervical spine injury. He is currently recuperating from a cervical vertebrae injury, and it will be difficult for him to continue his term as well as the presidency of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC). In the future, the IJF will be looking for people with a proven track record in judo and an international outlook, such as Yasuo Inoue, 46, who won the gold medal in the men’s 100-kilogram division at the Sydney Olympics and served as men’s national coach at the Tokyo Olympics, and Shohei Ohno, 32, who won the men’s 73-kilogram division at Rio and Tokyo in 2004 and is studying in England as a coach. Unless the IJF sends people with judo experience and international sensibilities to the organization, it will be impossible to correct the disorderly “order” of the judo world,” said a reporter.

It seems that the restoration of Japanese judo will require more than just an improvement in athletic ability.