TOKYO (TR) – A prestigious high school baseball team here has been handed a one-month ban on external matches after multiple members were caught distributing an obscene video of a female student.
The Japan Student Baseball Association on Tuesday handed down the suspension to Third Junior & Senior High School of Nihon University (Nichidai Sanko) in Machida City, effective until May 9, reports NHK (April 7).
In February, police referred two members of the hardball baseball team to prosecutors on suspicion of violating the act against child prostitution and pornography. The pair allegedly pressured a female acquaintance into sending them sexually explicit footage of herself, which they then widely circulated among their peers.
An investigation by the association revealed a systemic moral failure within the club, concluding that more than 10 members were either actively involved in spreading the digital footage or were fully aware of the abuse but chose to look the other way.
In a rare move for an obscenity scandal involving minors, the association publicly disclosed the school’s name due to the malicious, collective nature of the incident. As a result of the fallout, the school voluntarily withdrew from the spring Tokyo metropolitan tournament.
Despite the public shaming, the association’s punishment has ignited a firestorm of criticism online.
Outraged netizens condemned the ruling as a “slap on the wrist,” pointing out that lifting the ban in early May conveniently allows the elite team to participate in the upcoming summer Koshien qualifiers.
“Leaving a digital tattoo on a girl while getting a punishment designed just in time for summer is unacceptable,” one furious user wrote on X.
“Why only until May? They should be disbanded. This is a crime perpetrated by a gang of punks, not something to be swept under the rug,” another critic added.
Nichidai Sanko is widely recognized as a national baseball powerhouse, boasting two summer National High School Baseball championships and one spring invitational title. It was the runner-up in last summer’s event.
