Japan sets up 24/7 task force to shield Winter Olympic athletes from online abuse
Japan is tightening protections against online abuse for its athletes ahead of the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics, setting up a dedicated task force to monitor social media around the clock during the Games.
The Japanese Olympic Committee (JOC) said the move was prompted by the scale of harassment faced by athletes at recent major competitions, including the Paris 2024 Summer Olympics, where several Japanese competitors were subjected to sustained abuse online.
Japan’s chef de mission, Hidehito Ito, said a new monitoring system would aim to prevent athletes from being exposed to harmful content by having specialists track abusive posts in real time. They will subsequently ask social media platforms to remove the material.
The task force will consist of 22 staff members, with 16 based in Japan and six in Italy, supported by lawyers in both locations. The split setup is intended to ensure 24-hour coverage across time zones.
Ito said the JOC wants to act quickly before abusive messages spread or reach athletes directly, adding that lessons from Paris underscored the need for stronger, more proactive measures.
Japan’s heightened focus on online abuse reflects broader changes at home.
Since the 2020 death of wrestler and reality television star Hana Kimura following cyberbullying, authorities have strengthened penalties for online harassment, including prison terms and fines for platform operators that fail to act promptly.
The push mirrors concerns raised by international sports bodies in recent years.
A study published by World Athletics following the Tokyo 2020 Olympics found widespread abuse directed at athletes on social media, particularly during major competitions.
Conducted with Threat Matrix, the study analysed more than 240,000 tweets linked to 161 Olympic athletes over a four-week period in 2021, using artificial intelligence tools to identify discriminatory language, threats and abusive imagery.
Of the athletes targeted, the vast majority were women, who accounted for 87% of identified abusive posts. Two Black female athletes alone received nearly two-thirds of all detected abuse.
Sexist and racist messages made up more than half of the abuse identified, raising concerns about the psychological toll on athletes and the potential impact on performance during high-pressure events.
World Athletics said the results highlighted gaps in existing safeguards on social media platforms and underscored the need for closer cooperation between sporting bodies and technology companies.
For Japan, those findings reinforce the urgency of intervention.
Officials say the Milan Cortina approach will be adjusted as the Games progress, with regular communication between the JOC and the IOC to respond to emerging risks.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
