Slander Scandal Rocks Top Car Racing — Masahiko Kondo Accused of Running From Responsibility

Super Formula, Japan’s premier domestic car racing series, has produced many drivers who have gone on to succeed on the global stage. The organizing body, Japan Race Promotion (JRP), is also well known for being chaired by Kondo—familiarly known as “Match”—a former racer and talent.

According to FRIDAY’s investigation, a dispute has been brewing within JRP, escalating to the point where a team director competing in the Super Formula Championship has issued an open letter to Chairman Kondo.

The letter was submitted by Hideki Noda, a former F1 driver and director of Triple Tree Racing. It concerns allegations of harassment involving Noda’s daughter, Jujyu Noda (19), who races under her registered name “Juju.” Last year, Juju was voted Super Formula’s most popular driver of 2024 and has been featured in the media as a genius young racer, making her one of the series’ flagship drivers.

What exactly transpired between JRP and the director representing a team with such a high-profile driver? FRIDAYobtained an exclusive copy of Noda’s open letter to Chairman Kondo and conducted interviews with relevant sources to investigate the situation.

This is politics. Think about who the owner is

The incident traces back to May 17–18 of this year, during the Super Formula Championship held at Autopolis in Oita Prefecture. During the final race, a radio exchange between Juju Noda and her father and team director, Hideki Noda, was deemed by JRP to contain statements that could be interpreted as insulting to JRP. As a result, JRP imposed a one-day suspension on Noda from participating in the championship.

Director Noda accepted the penalty and posted an apology on the team’s website. However, he felt there were aspects he could not agree with and submitted an open letter to Chairman Masahiko Kondo to seek his opinion.

The controversial radio exchange occurred under the following circumstances:

During the final race, Juju was running a lap behind the lead group. According to the rules, lapped drivers may be instructed to yield to faster cars, and Juju complied after checking the approaching vehicles. The following words exchanged between director Noda and Juju were the focus of the issue:

“Juju, it’s politics, it’s politics, ok? Just I think who is the team owner of that.”

(Translation: “Listen Juju, this is politics. Think about who the team owner is.”)

Director Noda’s intention was to calm Juju, helping her remain focused on the race despite having to yield. However, the remarks were reported in a way that misinterpreted his true intent.

The trigger came the day after the race, when Kenta Yamashita—the driver to whom Juju had yielded—posted on X:

“Anyway, I heard a radio exchange from yesterday’s race that I can’t forgive, so I think it’s about time someone gave it some serious thought. I won’t say who, though.”

All radio communications in Super Formula are broadcast live on the official app and publicly accessible. Even without naming anyone, it was easy to identify Juju as the driver involved. Some media outlets picked up Yamashita’s post and published articles that also referenced the radio exchange.

A source familiar with the racing world, who was involved in drafting the open letter at Noda’s request, explained to FRIDAY:

“The article implied that director Noda’s remarks could be influenced by Chairman Kondo, suggesting that race decisions might be swayed. Since Kondo is also the owner of his own team, KONDO Racing Team, and Yamashita is one of his drivers, the term team owner was misinterpreted as referring to Kondo. In reality, in the context of the conversation, team owner referred to director Noda himself. The meaning was essentially, ‘This is the rule. The director is in charge, so just follow his instructions.’ Yamashita’s critical post contributed to the misunderstanding and the subsequent misreporting.”

Silent on the Open Letter

Yamashita’s post on X went viral, largely fueled by the media coverage, garnering over 2 million views. It also triggered a flood of insults and abusive comments directed at Juju Noda, and the online backlash continues to this day.

Director Hideki Noda posted an apology on the team’s website on June 4 under the title “Apology and Report Regarding the Director’s Inappropriate Remarks.” A source familiar with the matter explained:

“Although the radio exchange was misinterpreted, director Noda apologized for inadvertently causing trouble for Chairman Kondo. However, criticism and abusive comments toward Juju continue. Yamashita, whose post helped spread the misunderstanding, has not faced any sanctions. During the race, Yamashita even used strong language on his own team radio, such as ‘Juju, you’re in the way!’—yet there were no consequences.

“We felt that the judgment lacked fairness and impartiality, and the only way to address these points was to hear Chairman Kondo’s perspective. In early July, director Noda and I met with the JRP president to request a meeting with Chairman Kondo, but we received no response. As a result, in early August, we formalized our request in the form of an open letter and delivered it directly to the president.”

“I had expectations, but now I am disappointed.”

As of now, no response has been received. During a mid-July meeting attended by drivers from all teams, Chairman Masahiko Kondo was present. According to the president of Noda’s team company, who attended the meeting, Kondo gestured for him to come over and spoke directly:

“Director Noda requested a meeting to apologize, but we need to clarify—who is at fault here: Juju, Noda, or the team? I had expectations for Juju, but now I am disappointed.”

The way Kondo framed his comments implies that Noda and his team are automatically in the wrong, while Yamashita, who posted on X, bears no responsibility.

“They hype up a top-ranked driver to draw attention, but when trouble arises, they turn a blind eye. Is it because they are overly protective of their own team’s driver, or simply because they don’t want to deal with it? Chairman Kondo just ignores it and does nothing,” a source said.

FRIDAY approached Director Noda to ask about the open letter. Initially, he refused to comment, but after further questioning, he stopped and responded:

“Although the radio comments were misinterpreted, I apologized to Chairman Kondo for any trouble caused and accepted the disciplinary action. However, Juju followed the rules and yielded properly during the race, while Yamashita’s you’re in the way comment and subsequent posts on X that fueled criticism have gone unpunished.

A meeting was held in June to discuss the matter, attended by the JRP president, but Chairman Kondo did not appear. I feel that he has no intention of properly addressing the issue, and his irresponsible response has genuinely angered me.”

Noda even mentioned considering holding a press conference. FRIDAY asked Kondo’s office about: the planned response to the open letter, whether Yamashita would face any disciplinary action, and whether a meeting would be arranged for Noda to hear Kondo’s perspective. The official reply was:

“Neither Chairman Masahiko Kondo nor President Ueno has received an open letter from Hideki Noda. Therefore, we cannot respond to any of your questions.”

The same source added:

“To reiterate, I personally handed the letter to President Ueno in August. He did receive it. So this denial is astonishing. In the end, neither the association nor Chairman Kondo seems willing to confront the issue properly.”

As chairman, Masahiko Kondo is expected to respond with sincerity and take responsibility for resolving the matter.