JAPAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Atsushi Igarashi, Yoichiro Kuriyama, Misa Takahashi and Kosuke Ojio, TMI Associates
his expertise in assisting with the establishment of the Japanese NCAA, a new organisation formed to oversee university sports. Kosuke is a member of the Tokyo Bar Association.
TMI Associates 23rd Floor Roppongi Hills Mori Tower 6-10-1 Roppongi Minato-ku Tokyo 106-6123 Japan Tel: +81 03 6438 5511 Fax: +81 03 6438 5522 Web: www.tmi.gr.jp
1. Athlete Conduct, Integrity and Enforcement 1.1 Anti-Doping Regimes There is no law in Japan that imposes criminal pen - alties for doping. The Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA), established in 2001, is responsible for all anti-doping activities in the country. In addition to determining standard doping test procedures and implementing doping control processes, JADA also conducts education and awareness campaigns relat - ed to anti-doping. JADA established the Japan Anti-Doping Code (JADC), which is based on the World Anti-Doping Code cre - ated by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). The JADC incorporates WADA’s annually updated list of prohibited substances. This list includes substances such as cannabis, cocaine and heroin, which are also illegal drugs under Japanese law. In October 2018, Japan enacted its first anti-doping legislation: the Act on the Promotion of Anti-Doping Activities in Sport (Law No 58 of 2018). Following this, in March 2019, the government issued the Basic Poli - cies for the Comprehensive Promotion of Measures
Related to Anti-Doping Activities in Sports, which out - lines the core policy framework for anti-doping initia - tives in accordance with Article 11 (1) of the Act. Individual sports federations and professional leagues in Japan impose disciplinary sanctions for doping vio - lations in line with the JADC and their own regulations. Sanctions may include disqualification of results, peri - ods of ineligibility, suspensions from competition, and other disciplinary measures. A notable case occurred in 2017 involving a candidate for Japan’s national canoe team. The athlete secretly mixed a banned substance into a rival competitor’s drink, causing the rival to initially test positive and be suspended. After an investigation, the rival athlete’s suspension was overturned, while the perpetrator received an eight-year ban from competition issued by the national federation. JADA publishes a list of doping violations in Japan on its website. Last year, only one doping case was reported.
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