Skip to main content

Bankrupt Hokkaido Athletics Association Accounting Fraud Uncovered After Non-Payment of JAAF Dues

Last week the Hokkaido Athletics Association revealed that it has not paid the JAAF ¥7.35 million [~$49,000 USD] it collected in membership fees and licensing of officials within the precfecture in 2022. The HAA said that due to a drop in income and rise in costs it had been forced to divert the funds to pay for other activities such as training camps, and that it has asked its member local athletics associations for further financial support.

According to the HAA, in the 2022 fiscal year it collected approximately ¥19 million [~$127,000 USD] in membership fees from roughly 11,600 people, including junior high school students, high school students, adults, and officials. A JAAF statement said that "members will not be held responsible" for the situation, and that their 2022 results would still be accepted as valid despite the prefectural association's non-payment of their membership fees to the national organization.

The HAA has operated at a loss for the last 10 years and has continued its activities by drawing upon its existing savings, which in the 2012 fiscal year were around ¥70 million [~$467,000 USD]. In fiscal 2018 it used up the last remaining portion, roughly ¥15 million [~$100,000 USD], and from 2019 to 2022 utilized fraudulent accounting to make it look like it still had that ¥15 million in reserve. This accounting fraud was discovered after the JAAF insisted that the HAA pay the registration fees it had collected.

As a result of the HAA's financial problems, the JAAF is looking at canceling the Nambu Memorial Meet, one of the country's top-level track meets, as well as training camps geared toward development at the junior high school level. A spokesperson for the HAA commented, "We would like to review our financial management practices."

source article:
translated by Brett Larner

Buy Me A Coffee

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Most-Read This Week

Asian Games Preview - Entries, Timetable and Live Results

Back in Japan for the first time in 32 years and representing 60% of the world's population, with more athletes competing across all sports than at the Olympics, the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games are already underway. Athletics competition starts tomorrow and runs through Tuesday the 29th. Some of the biggest names on the entry list include: Rumesh Tharanga Pathirage (SRI) - men's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships gold and 2026 Diamond League champion Haruka Kitaguchi (JPN) - women's javelin throw - 2026 World Ultimate Championships and 2024 Paris Olympics gold Birhanu Balew (BRN) - men's 5000 m/10000 m - 2026 Diamond League 5000 m champion Sanghyeok Woo (KOR) - men's high jump - 2025 Tokyo World Championships silver Hayato Katsuki (JPN) - men's marathon race walk - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Abderrahman Samba (QAT) - men's 400 mH - 2025 Tokyo World Championships bronze Jiale Zhang (CHN) - women's hammer throw - 2025 Tokyo W...
Post a Comment
Read more

Endo, Nishikawa and Yamakawa Announce Corporate Team Changes

The SG Holdings men's corporate team announced on Oct. 1 that long-distance athletes Hyuga Endo and Yuichiro Nishikawa have joined its roster after leaving the Sumitomo Denko team. Endo, 28, won the Junior Olympics 3000 m while at Koriyama Nishi J.H.S. before going on to Gakuho Ishikawa H.S. where he was the the top Japanese placer in the 5000 m at the National High School Championships 2 years in a row. After graduating from Gakuho Ishikawa he joined the Sumitomo Denko team, winning the National Championships 5000 m in 2021. He won gold at the 2023 Asian Championships and represented Japan at the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. "I will give everything I have as part of the team and work hard toward helping it win the New Year Ekiden," he said of his new environment. Of his personal goals he said, "I want to focus on the 5000 m and reach new levels to compete internationally." Nishikawa, 28, was a member of Tokai University 's winning teams at the H...
Post a Comment
Read more

2 Athletes Provisionally Suspended After Positive Drug Tests at Asian Games

The International Testing Agency announced on Oct. 2 that provisional suspensions have been imposed on two athletes, Kazakhstan's Aiana Bolatbekkyzy in track and field, and Tajikistan's Issamjon Sharifov in tennis, after they tested positive for prohibited substances at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Aichi. Bolatbekkyzy, 19, tested positive for the steroid drostanolone in a sample collected during an in-competition test at the Games. A diuretic drug was found in the sample collected from Sharifov, 23. source article: https://www.sanspo.com/article/20261002-X4FJLT5MMZKFND6WXPOESAKETQ/ translated by Brett Larner
Post a Comment
Read more