Japan judo instructor guilty in death

http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8356455/Japan-judo-instructor-guilty-death

In the first criminal case over judo training in Japan, a court has found a martial arts instructor guilty over the death of a six-year-old boy, a court official says.

The Osaka District Court found the instructor guilty of causing the boy's death by repeatedly slamming him to the floor during training, ordering the defendant to pay a fine of 1 million yen ($A13,625), the official said.

It is the first criminal case filed by Japanese prosecutors against judo trainers, according to a victims' group, despite over 100 child deaths blamed on harsh training or hazing between 1983 and 2010.

The 36-year-old instructor, who owned a private judo club in Osaka, admitted he threw the boy excessively in training. The boy died in November last year from brain swelling, local reports said.

Ryo Uchida, associate professor at Nagoya University Graduate School of Education and Human Development, said at least 114 deaths during judo training had been reported between 1983 and 2010 at schools alone.

"The number of children's deaths, including those outside of schools, like the case of Osaka, remains unknown," Uchida told AFP.

"These serious accidents show that even experienced judo practitioners could give training inappropriately and cause grave injuries or death," he said.

"Instructors must be well aware of the risk of brain injuries and be prepared for emergency treatment."

Keiko Kobayashi, whose youngest child suffered brain damage when he was 15, welcomed the "historic" ruling but questioned if the one million yen fine was sufficient "after one child's life and future was lost".

Judo, which became an official Olympic sport at the 1964 Tokyo Games, has long been seen as a respectable tool for training the minds and bodies of young Japanese and forms a major part of military and police training.

But many argue that abusive trainers are able to escape criminal charges due to the physical risks inherent to the sport.

The All Japan Judo Federation revised safety guidelines in June to warn against the risk of head injuries.

They should let the Judo instructor fight at UFC Japan in a 2-1 match up against Brock and Reem. 36 year old throwing a 6 year old around repeatedly and causing his brain to swell. What a peice of shit! I don't see how someone can do that to a child. Oh the 6 year old isn't doing it right so I should abuse him. Japanese people are fucked up and they still have the worst fighters on the planet.