Exclusive: Nihon University Rowing Coach Accused of Verbal Abuse and Intimidation
Verbal abuse, intimidation, and threats by the rowing team coach
A new issue has arisen at Nihon University.
Nihon University made headlines on June 10 when the former weightlifting coach was arrested for accepting tuition fees from scholarship students’ parents—fees that should have been waived. Amid that, problems have now emerged in another sports club.
“Discriminatory remarks, verbal abuse, and intimidation by the Nihon University rowing coach were happening on a daily basis toward students. Currently, the university’s administration is conducting an investigation,” said a parent who consulted with current rowing club students and conducted interviews with affected students.
Who is this rowing club coach?
“He is an alumnus of the Nihon University rowing team. After graduation, he remained in his hometown of Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, engaging in coaching and sports promotion. Since 2012, he has been the head coach of a rowing club for junior high students, producing national-level athletes. In 2013, he established an NPO focused on promoting sports in the region, with rowing as the main activity. He became the Nihon University rowing coach in 2023, and this is his third year. He is known for his highly strict, Spartan-style coaching,” said the parent.
At Nihon University, verbal abuse, intimidation, and even statements approaching threats were reportedly commonplace.
“I can’t mentally endure the daily verbal abuse from the coach. Some actions clearly qualify as power harassment. I want the coach removed,”
said a student who entered the university and joined the rowing club in April 2024. According to interviews, the abuse and intimidation began immediately upon moving into the dormitory and continued daily until June 2025.
Because personal attacks and discriminatory remarks were repeated so regularly, only cases with specific dates and locations are listed here.
Case 1
In December 2023, at the U19 Asian Rowing Junior Championships in Thailand, a student (then in high school) became involved in a privacy violation incident with athletes from another school. This problem remained unresolved for over a year, continuing even after the student entered Nihon University. Mentally distressed, the student consulted with a fellow rowing club member. Given the coach’s habitual verbal abuse, they judged that “Even if we report it, it will be covered up.”
On April 21, 2025, the student made a public-interest report to the Japan Sports Agency to ensure proper measures against the ongoing privacy violation. On May 2, the same written report was submitted to the university’s coach and staff.
However, that night, the student was called by the coach and one of the assistant coaches and reprimanded:
“If you do something like this (the public-interest report), your tuition waiver will be canceled.”
“Subsidies will be lost.”
“Expulsion is possible.”
The next day, another student involved was called, and the coach reportedly said:
“Your tuition waiver will also be gone.”
“If you interfere, it will only harm you.”
In other words, the coach may have applied pressure to keep the incident concealed.
“Someone is snitching on me.”
Case 2
A student who moved into the dormitory in April 2024 (currently a second-year student) was assigned by the coach as coxswain (the person who sits at the back of the boat facing forward and gives instructions to the rowers). Because of this, the student was frequently near the coach and became a target of verbal abuse.
The coach, who is based in Kobe, only directly supervised students from Friday to Sunday each week. When the coach came to Tokyo on Fridays, he would immediately call the student into his office and hurl insults such as:
“You idiot”
“Fool”
“Piece of trash”
He also reportedly said:
“I’m always watching you. Someone is snitching on me.”
When the student was selected to represent their home prefecture in the 2024 Saga National Sports Festival, the coach allegedly said:
“Why are you going to the National Sports Festival?”
“Do your work for Nihon University, idiot.”
From January 2025, abusive messages via LINE began to increase. Weekly Friday summons continued, and in late February 2025, the following incident occurred: a club member became incapacitated by norovirus. Because calling an ambulance was prohibitively expensive, the student drove the member to the hospital themselves, which technically violated club rules. The coach verbally attacked the student for this. Immediately afterward, the coach reportedly threatened:
“Next time something happens, I’ll call [student’s mother].”
On April 25, 2025, via LINE, the coach sent a message to the student saying:
“If anything happens, I’ll call your mother immediately,”
along with an image of her phone number.
Case 3
During the 65th All-Japan Junior Rowing Championships held from October 18, 2024, the coach repeatedly insulted students who did not achieve good results:
- Toward first- and second-year students, he said, “Do you have a disability?” He also commented on the student’s habitual cycling, saying, “You’re shaking your head while pedaling, that’s strange.” In addition, he repeatedly made intimidating and threatening remarks to mentally pressure them.
-
He pointed out the volume of third-year students’ voices, saying, “You’re noisy, so you must have Asperger’s.”
-
Using poor performance at the competition as a reason, he repeatedly told the participating students, “Your sweat is dirty,” “Trash,” “Weaklings,” “Disgusting.”
“If I argue back, I’ll be crushed.”
The student from Case 1, who endured the coach’s verbal abuse, told their parent:
“Obviously, the coach does not have the authority to waive tuition. But students cannot defy his words. I think he used the system as a tool of control to try to suppress reports.”
The student from Case 2 said:
“I lost all motivation for the club. On Fridays when the coach came, I didn’t want to leave my room, and just being in the dorm became depressing. At that time, I was paranoid, wondering if everyone around me was snitching on me to the coach, so I had no one to consult. Life in the dorm was mentally exhausting. I felt I couldn’t trust anyone, and although the club members are important to me, I shut myself off emotionally until winter.
When I was alone, I even cried. From the day I entered the dorm until now—about a year and a half—the coach’s verbal abuse was repeated as if it were normal. His shouting and insults permeated the club, and every student was forced into silence under the atmosphere that ‘if you argue back, you’ll be crushed.’”
To hear the university’s perspective, FRIDAY contacted the Nihon University Sports Center by phone, relayed the above information, and sent their questions via email to the university’s public relations department. The response received by email was:
“We have received information regarding the facts you pointed out and are striving to ascertain the truth. As there are many parties involved, we are conducting a careful investigation. We are concerned that reporting based on incomplete investigation could delay the clarification of the truth. We would appreciate your understanding and consideration.”
In response, a parent commented:
“What our investigation revealed was that the coach’s intimidation, verbal abuse, and discriminatory remarks were directed at the entire team on a daily basis. This is no longer guidance but a structure of control through psychological violence. In May 2018, during a match, the coach and staff instructed dangerous tackles, which became a major social issue, and the coach and staff were disciplined. We feel the university is sincerely investigating this matter as well.
We consider this issue to be limited to the coach and a small number of staff, and the coach is currently being kept away from the rowing team. However, the thing students fear most is retaliation from the coach. We have heard that similar situations have occurred at Nihon University in the past. For that reason, it is extremely important that the public knows the current situation.”
For the sake of the affected students, Nihon University is urgently required to take swift action.
