Overview
- Akita’s board of education announced on Nov. 7 the disciplinary dismissal, dated Nov. 6, of Usami Daisuke, 46, a former Japan national team setter who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
- Officials said he slapped and punched players, kicked them in the abdomen, and hurled insults from around April 2023 through September 2025, affecting multiple team members.
- The school’s principal, in his 60s, received a reprimand.
- Omogawa High had submitted an Oct. 15 report confirming corporal punishment, and the prefectural volleyball association had already imposed a one-year suspension on Oct. 6.
- The team advanced to the national tournament under a registered coach at the Oct. 17–19 prefectural qualifier, and reporting has detailed a current student’s truancy and an earlier dropout linked to the coach’s conduct.