The president of the Judo Federation has called out the Russian President in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying Putin’s actions are against the spirit and purpose of the sport.
Yasuhiro Yamashita, Olympic gold medalist, the president of the All Japan Judo Federation, and former Judo partner to Russian President Vladamir Putin has come out criticizing the Russian invasion of Ukraine, decrying Putin’s acts as “Cowardly”. This follows many high-profile global figures condemning the Russian leader since the invasion began in February.
The Japanese judoka’s denunciation of President Putin highlights the contradiction of his actions, calling them “against the spirit and purpose of Judo”.
Yamashita’s statements were made shortly after Putin and the Russian businessman Arkady Rotenberg were removed from all positions in the International Judo Federation (IJF) as a response to the invasion. Putin was suspended as IJF honorary president last week who made the following statement:
“The International Judo Federation announces that Mr. Vladimir Putin and Mr. Arkady Rotenberg have been removed from all positions held in the International Judo Federation.”
Further to this, Putin was also stripped of his honorary 9th dan taekwondo black belt which made him grandmaster conferred in 2013 by World Taekwondo and a FINA Order, awarded to him in 2014 by swimming’s global body.
prior to these statements, Yamashita enjoyed a friendly relationship with the Russian President who described the 1984 Olympian as a “very good man”, citing the principles of judo – respecting one’s partner or opponent, and self-defense, as advice for developing Russian and Japanese relations at a time when both countries looked to cooperate with one another as diplomatic partners. However, Yamashita’s denunciation follows a concerted effort made by the international athletic community in a rare display of unity.
With no end in sight and a death toll approaching 25,000 since February, many around the world have felt this response against Russia necessary. “As a Judoka, my deepest sadness and thoughts are with the people of Ukraine as well as all Judo lovers around the world,” Yamashita added in a statement made on his personal website.
Putin’s interest in activities deemed masculine and strong has long been noted, with memorable photos of the Russian president topless on horseback like a shriveled Godiva. His penchant for the Japanese sport and his subsequent undermining by the Judo community will no doubt hamstring Putin’s carefully maintained self-image.
Russian and Belarusian teams and athletes have found themselves frozen out from international competitions across sports, following the beginning of what Putin has called “a special military operation” in Ukraine, Belarus being a key staging area for Russia’s invasion of its neighbor. This is not the first time that Russia has faced disciplinary action from the international athletics community, notably their controversial ban from the Olympics and global sports for four years following the doping scandal back in 2016.
World Taekwondo, the international governing body of the sport, said that Russia’s attack on Ukraine goes against the group’s vision of “Peace is more precious than triumph,” as well as the values of respect and tolerance.
