This study is based on an analysis of newspaper coverage of a woman judo athlete. That athlete is Ms. Noriko Narazaki, a bronze medalist at the Atlanta Olympics, the first place winner in the World Judo Championships, and the silver medalist at the Sydney Olympics. In order to investigate the reactions to the content of these media reports, interviews were conducted with the audience with varying backgrounds such as gender, age and other social properties. The interviews were analyzed and responses were divided into three positions based on gender, i.e., the dominant position, the negotiated position, and the oppositional position. The results of these analyses are as follows: 1)There is a wide diversity in the audience's interpretations of the texts. This diversity derives from different ways of decoding based on their own “lived experiences” 2)Most of the audience are found to have accepted (and re-produced) the gender dominant code of the texts by taking the “negotiated position” toward the texts. The dominant code here included the discourse of patriarchy, heterosexism, current sexual division, and women as sport epigone. 3)In the case of the oppositional reading (interpretation) of the texts, two elements are found to be relevant. One is broad knowledge of gender studies. The other is a working experience in an environment where one is always referred to as the first female worker ever taking the post. 4) The number of the audience holding the oppositional reading increased in the course of the interview. This suggests that the audience has acquired “media literacy” through action of careful reading a series of articles and discussion in the group or with the interviewer. That further led to “gender-opposing self-formation” by each member of the audience.

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Under revisions made to school curriculum guidelines in 1989, the terms “male and female” (or “boy and girl”) were eliminated from elementary, junior high, and senior high schools, and institutional discrimination on the basis of gender was eliminated. Nonetheless, it is believed that existing gender bias has a significant impact on the behavior of instructors and students. In order to verify this, we conducted a survey of junior high schools in four prefectures to the west of the Kanto region concerning the gender of health and physical education instructors, the percentages of male and female instructors for each sport, and the events held for boys and girls in school athletic meets (sports days) with the intention of determining their characteristics. The research method consisted of a written questionnaire distributed by mail to all public and private junior high schools in Kanagawa, Aichi, Okayama, and Hiroshima Prefectures. The survey was conducted from September to December 2003, and valid responses were received from 634 schools (47%). The survey results indicated that female health and physical education instructors account for about 30% of the total. The results also indicated a strong tendency for female instructors to instruct in dance and male instructors in the martial arts. These gender differences were particularly prominent in the events conducted during student field days. More than 60% of the schools hold events limited to just girls or boys. In track and field events, girls' race events were for shorter distances. Group events also showed an awareness of gender differences, with girls participating in dance while boys participate in cavalry battle games and stunt-type events. The survey results indicated that existing gender bias remains strongly rooted in the field of education.

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There are few Japanese research studies on sexual harassment in sport although recently such incidents have been reported in Japan. In comparison, research on this theme has grown steadily since the mid-1980s in several countries. This paper presents a perspective on and some issues relating to sexual harassment research in sport through a review of studies completed mainly since the 1990s. To date, the research has been conducted mainly on the relationship between males and females or coaches and athletes or students. Certain aspects of the experiences and conceptions of sexual harassment in sport have been clarified, and there are also a few useful qualitative studies on risk factors and consequences. Some studies were conducted to create useful prevention measures against sexual harassment. However, there are areas that still require investigation and research. As the published studies show, a gender perspective is essential in order to make visible the problems of sexual harassment in sport in Japan. Analyzing sexual harassment between males and females is important but it is also important to analyze it within same gender categories to further explain gender power relationship within sport. To highlight the importance of this problem in Japan, research is required primarily to clarify the experiences and conceptions of sexual harassment in certain sport fields where violence and abuse often occur. Theorization of sexual harassment in sport in Japan is also essential to develop urgently needed prevention strategies, systems for helping victims and education programs for coaches and athletes. The management of power relations among researcher, research participants, and sporting organizations is another important issue. In Japan, further cooperation with support groups such as counselors or teachers will be needed to deal with these power management issues and to share data and ideas efficiently.

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