Tokyo student gives up softball due to abusive language from middle school coach

TOKYO -- A student at a public junior high school in Japan's capital gave up playing softball after a coach verbally abused her, and she graduated without receiving an apology, sources close to the matter have informed the Mainichi Shimbun.

According to the sources, the external coach sent messages calling the student "stupid," and reprimanded her in front of others, telling her she had "the brain of a 3-year-old."

Katsushika Ward's education board acknowledged the coach's remarks constituted abusive language. However, the student graduated without receiving an apology from the coach, the school or the education board, and decided to give up playing the sport.

According to the education board and other sources, the instructor, aged in her 40s, has been serving as an external coach at the school since the 2001 academic year, initially as a paid volunteer. Since the 2022 school year, she has been working as a part-time club activity instructor under a fiscal-year appointment system for public workers.

The club has another supervising teacher, but the coach is primarily responsible for instructing the team. At least one of her former students has even gone on to become a national representative.

The coach used the Line app to communicate with team members and regularly sent messages to the student who joined in April 2022, calling her "stupid" and "bald" (a general insult not necessarily restrict to bald people) for reasons such as "having a small voice." There were reportedly instances where she sent the student messages reprimanding her between around midnight and 1 a.m.

In November 2023, when the coach told the student to "go home," the latter replied, "I won't," and the coach yelled at her in front of other members, calling her ungrateful to her parents and saying she had "the brain of a 3-year-old." The supervising teacher was reportedly not present at the time.

The student later apologized to the coach for her defiant attitude but was not allowed to participate in club activities for about four months.

Though the student's parents consulted with the school and the education board, and she returned to the club in March 2024, her opportunities to participate in matches significantly decreased.

She had hoped to continue softball in high school, but enrolled in a high school without a softball team because she was afraid of possibly having to interact with the coach if she continued playing the sport.

In an interview with the Mainichi, the student recalled, "No matter how many times I apologized, I was told to 'show sincerity,' so I wrote a letter and delivered it to her home, but I wasn't forgiven and felt confused."

The principal acknowledged the coach's abusive language as "mostly true" and stated, "In March 2024, we instructed the coach that her methods were not in line with modern times, and the situation should have improved since then."

A representative from the education board explained, "Abusive language is unacceptable, and we have also instructed the coach to change her behavior."

The coach continues to instruct at this junior high school. Through the school, she commented, "I became emotional because I wanted to help them achieve what they couldn't do and make good plays. I lacked consideration for the children's feelings and the impact of my words."

(Japanese original by Sahomi Nishimoto, Tokyo City News Department)

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