Four Japanese basketball players expelled from Asian games over prostitute scandal
Four members of the Japanese men’s basketball team have been sent packing from the Asian games for allegedly paying to prostitutes during their promenade in Indonesian capital of Jakarta.
Last week, the athletes, wearing their national team shirts, had a dinner in a Japanese restaurant located in Jakarta’s entertainment district before being spotted with a group of women with whom they went to a nearby hotel.
After the news about the quartet’s behavior surfaced, the players were expelled from the games for violating the Japanese Olympic Committee’s code of conduct.
“This action violated the national team’s code of conduct… and it betrayed the expectations of Japanese citizens,” Japanese delegation chief Yasuhiro Yamashita said at a press conference on Monday. “As the chief of the delegation, it is very regrettable and I deeply apologize from the bottom my heart.”
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Yuya Nagayoshi, 27, Takuya Hashimoto, 23, Takuma Sato, 23, and Keita Imamura, 22, left Jakarta early on Monday morning to return to their home country.
“I would like to humbly apologise to the Japanese public, the JOC and everyone who supports basketball for this deplorable incident,” Japan basketball chief Yuko Mitsuya said, adding that the punishment for the players’ ‘inconsiderate acts’ will be decided later.
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Japan’s men’s basketball team won their opening game against Qatar 82-71 and is expected to continue participating in the tournament without substitutes for the four ousted players.
