IOC, JOC discuss measures to eradicate harassment & abuse in Japanese sports

Zurich, Aug 7 (IANS) IOC President Thomas Bach and the President of the Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) and IOC Member, Yamashita Yasuhiro, recently discussed measures to eradicate harassment and abuse in Japanese sport.In a telephone conference held last week, both the presidents stressed the determination of their organisations to fight against any form of abuse.Yamashita informed the IOC President about all the different measures that have been taken in Japanese sport in the past few years. One of them is the introduction of a governance code for Japanese sport, which was established in June last year. Starting this autumn, it will be monitored by the JOC, the Japan Sport Association (JSPO) and the Japanese Para-Sports Association (JPSA) with the aim of verifying which national federations are complying with the code, as per a statement on the IOC website. President Bach put the advice of the IOC athlete safeguarding experts and the IOC safe sport initiatives at the disposal of the JOC. It was agreed that the experts on both sides would start working together through the IOC safe sport initiatives in support of NOCs, as the IOC looks to tackle this important issue around the world.
--IANS aak/bbh