Abstract
As of April 2012, "Budo", Japanese traditional martial arts, became a compulsory part of health and physical education at junior high schools in Japan, with schools being given the option to choose from judo, kendo, and sumo. Recently, some students died or suffered injuries in judo accidents, and it is feared that such accidents could become common. In this study, we examined cases of head injury suffered by students in judo accidents. The incidence of injury showed two peaks occurring in the first year of junior high and senior high school. In most cases, the judo accident impacted the victim's head, particularly the occipital region. Most of the victims suffered subdural hemorrhage. Osotogari, a judo throwing technique, was found to be the most common cause of head injury. This was true in the alive case of the accidents as well as those who died from head injury.
