School Violence Controversy Spreads Unchecked... Japanese High School Makes Unprecedented Mid-Tournament Withdrawal from Koshien

High School Withdraws Midway from National Baseball Championship
School Violence Allegations Surface on Social Media Before Tournament
School Issues Apology and Quits After Lukewarm Response Fuels Controversy

The view of Koryo High School in Japan, which withdrew midway from the high school baseball tournament due to a school violence controversy. School website.

A Japanese high school withdrew midway from the National High School Baseball Championship, commonly known as Koshien. Prior to the tournament, a school violence controversy emerged on social media. Due to the school's lukewarm response and the continued resurfacing of past school violence allegations, the school issued a public apology and decided to withdraw from the competition.

According to NHK and other Japanese media outlets on August 11, Koryo High School in Hiroshima Prefecture, which was embroiled in a school violence controversy, decided to withdraw before its second-round match at Koshien. This is the first time a school has withdrawn from the tournament during the competition due to an incident such as school violence. On August 10, Koryo's principal, Masakazu Hori, visited the tournament headquarters in Nishinomiya, Hyogo Prefecture, and held a press conference. He announced the school's decision to withdraw before the second round due to violence among baseball team members, stating, "I deeply apologize for the significant trouble and concern caused to so many people," and bowed his head in apology.

Koryo High School revealed that in January of this year, some senior baseball team members verbally and physically assaulted junior members, including incidents of sexual assault, for which the school received a strict warning from the Japan High School Baseball Federation in March. Separately, information has been spreading on social media alleging that a former baseball team member was subjected to violence and verbal abuse by the coach, staff, and some team members. The school stated that no new cases have been confirmed beyond those already raised on social media. In June, at the request of the former team member's guardian, the school established a third-party investigation committee composed of lawyers and others, and an investigation is underway. The school said, "We take this situation very seriously and have decided to fundamentally review our coaching system after withdrawing from this tournament."

Regarding the decision to withdraw after the first round, the school explained, "If any new cases had been confirmed during the fact-checking process, we would have immediately reconsidered our participation. In the end, there were no such findings." However, the school added, "We made the final decision out of concern that our continued participation could disrupt the tournament's operation, further damage the credibility of high school baseball, and, more importantly, due to concerns for the safety of students and staff."

Previously, on August 5, just before the tournament began, information about a violent incident within the baseball team was posted and spread on social media. On the night of August 6, the day before the first round, Koryo High School issued a statement regarding this post. According to the statement, the incident occurred in January in the dormitory, where senior baseball team members assaulted a junior member. As a result, in early March, the Japan High School Baseball Federation issued a strict warning and suspended the involved players from official games for one month. However, separate information also spread on social media alleging that, two years ago, a baseball team member was subjected to violence and verbal abuse by the coach, staff, and some team members. After winning the first round on August 7, the school announced, "We received a report of victimization in March last year and conducted two investigations, but nothing was confirmed. The third-party committee is currently investigating."

Currently, on Japanese social media, photos and real names of baseball team members are being circulated. In response, Toshiko Abe, Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, made the unusual statement, "The rampant slander and defamation on social media could lead to new human rights violations. I urge everyone to respond calmly."