Ushering in a new era of leadership, former Olympians Seiko Hashimoto and Yuko Arimori are the new presidents of the Japanese Olympic Committee and the Japan Association of Athletics Federations, respectively.
The JOC executive board voted for its new president on Thursday, June 26. Kozo Tajima, the former Japan Football Association president, and acting JOC president Yuko Mitsuya, who is the Japan Basketball Association chief, were the other finalists to replace Yasuhiro Yamashita as JOC president. It was the first time the JOC held an election to choose its top leader, according to published reports.
Yamashita had cervical spine surgery in October 2023. Since then, he has been unable to return to work.
Hashimoto, a 60-year-old member of the House of Councillors (Liberal Democratic Party), was elected to serve a two-year term. She is the first woman to assume the JOC's top position.
On Wednesday, Arimori, 59, was chosen as the JAAF's new president. Arimori becomes the first female to lead the JAAF.
Both women bring extensive experience within sports governance and administration to their new roles.
Hashimoto served as president of the Japan Skating Federation from 2006-19. She also held the post of Tokyo 2020 Organizing Committee president from February 2021 until the conclusion of the Tokyo Paralympic Games in September 2021. Prior to that, she had been Japan's Olympics minister. What's more, she competed in seven Olympic Games ― four times in speed skating in the Winter Games and three times in track cycling in the Summer Games.
Arimori, a two-time Olympic women's marathon medalist, was appointed as the JAAF vice chair in 2021.
Thoughts on New Leadership Positions
Looking ahead to her new role as the Japanese Olympic Committee president, Hashimoto said it's a privilege to be chosen.
"This is the first election in JOC history, and I am honored to become its first female president," Hashimoto was quoted as saying by Inside the Games. "I will carry out my duties with humility and never forget my original intention."
Hashimoto, the speed skating bronze medalist in the women's 1,500 meters at the 1992 Albertville Games, said the JOC has clear objectives moving forward.
"I believe the JOC's mission is to bid again to host the Olympics and Paralympics, and to show the world the Games serve as a symbol of world peace," she said on Thursday, according to Kyodo News.
Arimori, who succeeded Mitsugi Ogata as JAAF chief, helped popularize the marathon in her homeland by earning the silver medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics and the bronze at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In the future, the former Special Olympics Nippon Japan chairperson wants to further increase track and field's popularity in her homeland.
"I'll work to make track and field appealing so more people love and enjoy it," Arimori told a news conference on Wednesday, Kyodo News reported.
She added, "I have learned that sports can help motivate people to live and seek peace. I'll play any role I can to make athletics something in which people can find important values."
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Baseball
Ohtani Selected to 5th Consecutive MLB All-Star Game
Shohei Ohtani is heading to his fifth straight MLB All-Star Game.
The Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter received 3,967,668 votes in Phase 1 of balloting, which ended on Thursday, June 26. That locked up a spot for Ohtani in the starting lineup.
"The fans love him. He's the best player," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said, referring to Ohtani, MLB.com reported. "It's going to be exciting for the fans to watch him in Atlanta for the All-Star Game."
New York Yankees outfielder Aaron Judge was the overall leader in Phase 1 votes (4,012,983), giving him a spot in the American League outfield for the July 15 game in Atlanta.
Ohtani leads the NL in home runs (29) through Friday's games.
As the top vote-getters in the AL and the NL, Judge and Ohtani earned automatic All-Star starting spots under MLB's current protocols.
Meanwhile, players who finished in the top two in votes for each position (top six for outfielders) in Phase 1 will advance to Phase 2 in fan balloting (June 30-July 2).
Complete rosters will be unveiled on July 6.
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Track and Field
Kitaguchi to Skip Japan Championships Due to an Elbow Injury
Haruka Kitaguchi, the defending Olympic and world champion women's javelin thrower, will skip the 109th Japan National Championships, which will be held July 4-6 at Tokyo's National Stadium.
Kitaguchi is coping with medial epicondylitis in her right elbow. The Cleveland Clinic website describes this condition, commonly known as golfer's elbow, as "a form of tendonitis that causes pain and inflammation in the tendons connecting your forearm and elbow."
Taking a break from competition may help reduce the pain.
At the 2025 World Athletics Championships, the women's javelin event is set for September 19 (qualification round) and 20 (final) at National Stadium.
In her most recent competition, Kitaguchi placed second (63.88 meters) in the 64th Ostrava Golden Spike in Ostrava, Czech Republic, on Tuesday, June 24. Serbia's Adriana Vilagos triumphed with a top mark of 64.87.
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Gymnastics
Hashimoto Likely Has Kikuchi Disease
After undergoing a blood test in May 2025, three-time Olympic gold medalist Daiki Hashimoto said on Monday, June 23, that the results indicate he likely has Kikuchi disease.
Common symptoms include benign swollen lymph nodes in the neck along with mild fever and night sweats, according to the US Department of Health and Human Services.
"I had similar symptoms when I was a high school student, and the diagnosis was that it was a recurrence," Hashimoto was quoted as saying by Kyodo News during a Japan national team training camp in Tokyo.
"My doctor is trying to come up with what to do for me to get better," the 23-year-old added.
Hashimoto won the men's all-around and horizontal bar titles at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He also contributed to Japan's silver medal-winning team effort at Tokyo 2020 and helped the squad collect the team title at the 2024 Paris Games.
In 2022 and '23, he captured the gold in the men's all-around final at the world championships in Liverpool and Antwerp.
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Ice Hockey
New 2nd-Tier Men's League to Debut in October
The XHL (Extreme Ice Hockey League) will launch its inaugural season in October 2025, the Japan Ice Hockey Federation announced on Friday, June 27.
Three men's teams will compete in the XHL's first season: the Tokyo Wilds, the Nagoya Orques and the Shiga Blue Rise.
The upstart circuit will be a challenge league to "develop players and referees, popularize the sport, promote regional development, and revolutionize the spectator experience," the JIHF said in a news release.
And the XHL will operate as a second-tier circuit under Asia League Ice Hockey, which has six teams (including four in Japan).
The opening game is scheduled for October 12 in Shiga Prefecture, and the trio of squads is set to play 18 games apiece in a round-robin format. Tokyo will host the finals, starting on March 22, 2026.
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Quote of the Week
"For a lot of these guys, it's their first game above League One, so it's a much higher level of game."
―Japan men's rugby head coach Eddie Jones on the challenge for his players of facing the Maori All Blacks in a non-test international match on Saturday, June 27 in Tokyo. The Maori All Blacks beat Japan 53-20 at Prince Chichibu Memorial Rugby Ground.
Author: Ed Odeven
Find Ed on JAPAN Forward's dedicated website, SportsLook. Follow his [Japan Sports Notebook] on Sundays, [Odds and Evens] during the week, and X (formerly Twitter) ＠ed_odeven.
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