Yokohama FC’s Solomon Sakuragawa Accused of Kicking and Beating His Partner

A surprising suspicion has emerged surrounding a major prospect in Japanese football.

Having returned to the J1 stage this season, Yokohama FC continues to struggle—sitting in 18th place after 23 matches as of July 8—but one player who stands out with his commanding physical presence is 24-year-old Solomon Sakuragawa. Standing at 191 cm and weighing 94 kg, his powerful playing style makes him a key contributor. Though he has scored just three goals so far this season, his hold-up play, and high defensive work rate up front have been vital for the team.

“He has a Nigerian father and has consistently been called up to Japan’s youth national teams, including the Paris Olympics generation. He made his professional debut with JEF United Chiba in 2020 and was instrumental in their promotion to J1 last season, appearing in 37 J2 matches.

This year marks his first full season in J1, and although he often comes off the bench, he has played in 22 of the 23 league matches. He also showed his clutch abilities by scoring a dramatic extra-time winner against Cerezo Osaka in the Levain Cup on June 8,” says a football magazine journalist.

A large bruise that appeared on his chest

Although Sakuragawa is steadily honing his craft on the stage of his first major challenge, behind his success, one woman is said to be suffering. Her name is Kyoko Tanaka (pseudonym). Reportedly, Kyoko has been a victim of domestic violence by Sakuragawa.

“Athletes like him continue playing soccer as if nothing happened, while Kyoko is still going to the hospital and struggling. It’s unforgivable that he hasn’t even apologized,” says a female acquaintance of Kyoko.

What exactly are the DV (domestic violence) allegations now surrounding the promising young player? The acquaintance continues:

“I’ve known Kyoko since our student days. She’s a very responsible person—the type who never misses work even after becoming a working adult. She met Sakuragawa around July last year. They hit it off right away, celebrated his birthday together, and were spending a lot of time as a couple. Kyoko seemed genuinely happy.

But something changed on December 19. She suddenly took several days off work. Worried, I went to see her—and I was shocked when I saw her face. She had a large bruise on her neck. There were also bruises on her upper right arm, elbow, and hand. Even a big bruise on her chest. When I pressed her about it, she broke down in tears and confessed, ‘Soro-kun hit me.'”

Kyoko’s legs were left in a horrifying state

The trouble occurred on December 18. Sakuragawa and Kyoko, along with some friends, had been drinking in Kabukicho, Tokyo (Shinjuku Ward). By dawn, Sakuragawa was completely drunk and suddenly began verbally abusing Kyoko in front of their friends. Eventually, he forcibly dragged her into his car.

“They reportedly got into an argument about past fights while in the car. Sakuragawa was in the driver’s seat and Kyoko was in the passenger seat. Then, overcome with anger, Sakuragawa allegedly punched Kyoko in the right side of her torso, her arm, shoulder, and even her face, and choked her. Kyoko managed to call the friends they had just been drinking with to ask for help, which apparently caused Sakuragawa to calm down. They say he responded to the friends’ calls in his usual calm tone,” said a female acquaintance.

The next day, Sakuragawa called Kyoko to apologize. At that time, he seemed genuinely remorseful. Then came a surprising proposal from him.

“Believe it or not, Sakuragawa asked, ‘Let’s date officially.’ Kyoko already had feelings for him, so she accepted. When I heard about it, I was against the relationship, but Kyoko said, ‘I want to believe in Soro-kun.’ And that’s how they started dating,” said the same acquaintance.

However, the woman’s bad feeling turned out to be correct. On February 24 this year, Kyoko took several days off work again. The same acquaintance, who went to look after her, was shocked by what she saw.

“There were multiple bruises on both her legs. She had a large bruise on her arm and could barely walk. She said that on the night of the 23rd, she and Sakuragawa got into a fight about cheating while he was heavily intoxicated. Because of the violent incident in December, Kyoko panicked and reportedly threw his phone and other personal belongings at him.

But that only escalated Sakuragawa further. He allegedly used his trained dominant foot to kick Kyoko’s right leg. Can you imagine the terror of being assaulted by a man over 190 cm tall using full force? The bruise on Kyoko’s leg was about the size of a melon and was dark and swollen with internal bleeding.”

The two continued to fight and finally broke up for good at the end of March. Then in May, Kyoko had the chance to speak with Sakuragawa on the phone. During that call, he reportedly made a shocking demand.

“Even after their breakup, Sakuragawa repeatedly contacted Kyoko, urging her to get back together. What’s worse, he already had a new girlfriend by that time. Despite that, he was still reaching out to Kyoko. And then, because his new girlfriend apparently suspected that he was still involved with Kyoko, he told her over the phone, ‘Send me a message on LINE that proves to my girlfriend that there’s nothing going on between us anymore.’ Even though he had kept asking to reconcile, when it became inconvenient for him, he turned around and betrayed her so easily. That really devastated Kyoko—she finally snapped out of it,” said the female acquaintance.

Kyoko went to the hospital after each instance of physical abuse and received treatment. She also suffered from insomnia and an eating disorder, and began visiting a psychiatrist, which she continues to do to this day. She’s undergoing counseling and taking medication, doing her best to recover. But every time she sees news of his success, it triggers her trauma—it’s painful to watch. Meanwhile, Sakuragawa has a new girlfriend and is enjoying his debut season in the J1 league. It’s incredibly frustrating to think something so unfair is just being allowed to happen,” the acquaintance added.

The club to which he belongs was (as written in the inquiry letter/questionnaire)

Was the repeated abuse by Sakuragawa truly a fact? FRIDAY Digital approached Kyoko on her way home from work. At first, she ignored the reporter’s questions, but when they continued to call out to her, she finally stopped and replied with just one sentence:

“Yes, I was in a relationship with Mr. Sakuragawa, and it’s true that he was violent toward me. I’m also still receiving treatment because of it. But our relationship is over now, so I can’t say anything more.”

With that, she gave a polite bow and walked away.

Is Sakuragawa’s club, Yokohama FC, aware of the violent incidents? FRIDAY Digital contacted the club for confirmation regarding the allegations that Sakuragawa kicked Kyoko with his dominant foot and choked her in December last year and February this year. They also asked for the club’s view on its responsibility in this matter. However, no response was received by the given deadline.

The day after the deadline, several follow-up calls were made, but the only answer given each time was: “The person in charge is unavailable, so we cannot comment.”

Kyoko’s acquaintance had this to say in the end:

“Why won’t the club take action? Are they saying that what Sakuragawa did to Kyoko was too trivial to be worth dealing with? If that’s the case, it’s incredibly frustrating.”

A well-trained body is meant to bring joy to fans through football—not to be used for violence. Before being a professional soccer player, shouldn’t Sakuragawa first fulfill his responsibilities as a human being?