Smile Japan, Off to Milano Cortina! | Hiroyuki Ishida, Dean of the Graduate School of Health Management
2025.03.04
I recently visited Tomakomai for the first time in a while for the final qualifiers of the women's ice hockey tournament, which will determine participation in next year's Milano Cortina d'Ampezzo Winter Olympics. The last time I was in Tomakomai was in 2017 for the final qualifiers for the 2018 PyeongChang Winter Olympics, making this my first visit in eight years. The closed Sun Plaza building (the former Daiei) in front of the station still sits there like a ruin, and a look toward the port reveals a landscape reminiscent of the world of Sayuri Ishikawa's enka songs. But contrary to that melancholy, a sense of elation wells up, telling me I've arrived at the holy land of ice hockey. In Hokkaido, the go-to convenience store is Seicomart (a chain primarily based in Hokkaido). At "Secoma," I bought some Yakisoba Bento—another Hokkaido specialty, perhaps?—and headed to the venue, Hakucho Arena.
My role this time was on the operational side, working with members of the international federation on event safety management and doping control. But setting those details aside, in these final qualifiers, the women's ice hockey team (known as Smile Japan) achieved a resounding victory over France, Poland, and China, brilliantly securing their spot in the Olympics. The generation that supported the team through the last three Olympics has largely retired, and I watched with a mix of anticipation and anxiety to see how this young, new team would perform, but they were well-prepared. Personally, I had considered the match against China to be a major hurdle, but the Chinese team was missing the Chinese-American and European players who were registered for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics (I hear their visas were not issued for political reasons), so China's domestic situation seems to have worked in Japan's favor. Looking only at the rankings from past Olympics—Nagano (6th), Sochi (7th), PyeongChang (6th), and Beijing (6th)—it seems not much has changed. However, during this time, the number of participating countries has increased from six (Nagano) to ten (Beijing), so their relative standing has definitely improved (just like Keio University's world university rankings). Incidentally, at the Sochi Olympics, which they entered triumphantly after winning the qualifiers (their Nagano appearance was as the host nation), they lost all five games. I vividly remember many players, including their ace Hanae Kubo, crying and saying, "We couldn't do anything at the Olympics..." This experience spurred significant growth for the team, leading them to reach the final round for the first time at the 2022 Beijing Olympics and finish in sixth place. In the world of women's hockey, Canada and the United States are exceptionally dominant, so a bronze medal is the next realistic goal, but achieving it will not be easy as they will be competing against powerhouses like Finland and Switzerland. Just the other day, J.League Chairman Nonomura commented that "for players to achieve results on the world stage, they need to acquire a world-standard toughness." The same is true for women's ice hockey. Although body checking, as seen in men's hockey, is prohibited in the women's game, at the World Championship level, incidental contact that occurs in the flow of the game is often not called as a penalty. The referees understand well that this world-standard, high-quality intensity is what captivates the audience. Therefore, to achieve good results at the Olympics, "world-standard toughness," which is difficult to experience in the domestic league, is key, and for that, international tours are essential. With the end of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics bubble, the development funds allocated to the federation have been reduced, creating a challenging environment. It's a slightly unfortunate situation that whether their "smiles" will shine in Milano depends on the support of corporate sponsors and benefactors. However, with one year to go until the main event, I intend to fully support the team's growth from my position as a sports doctor.
By the way, last month, there was a rather concerning statement from U.S. President Trump. He banned transgender female athletes (athletes who have transitioned from male to female) from participating in women's sports. This comment was likely made with the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics in mind, and although it didn't attract much attention due to his many inflammatory remarks on various issues, it could lead to a significant change regarding Olympic participation. In November 2021, the IOC (International Olympic Committee) Executive Board adopted the "IOC Framework on Fairness, Inclusion and Non-discrimination on the basis of gender identity and sex variations." Prior to this, at the last Tokyo Olympics, Laurel Hubbard, an athlete who transitioned from male to female, competed in women's weightlifting as the first-ever transgender athlete in Olympic history. While this was a groundbreaking event in terms of "acceptance of diversity," it has sparked various opinions on the issue of fairness. For example, some research suggests that individuals who have gone through male puberty retain the effects of their "male period" on their musculoskeletal characteristics even after transitioning to female through hormone therapy and other means, raising doubts not only about fairness but also about whether safety can be maintained in certain sports. Finding a resolution that respects diversity while considering fairness and safety is an extremely difficult problem, and regardless of how much thought Mr. Trump put into his statement, it's undeniable that he hit a sore spot for the IOC. The issue of gender and sports participation requires a broader discussion that includes "Disorders of Sex Development" (DSD), where chromosomal sex and social gender often differ. This will likely become a controversial topic in competitions at various levels, not just the Olympics, in the future. Due to space limitations, I will avoid going into detail this time, but I plan to provide updated information when I have the opportunity.
Photo 1: Thanks in part to the performance of the young players in the final qualifiers, the team brilliantly secured their ticket to the Olympics.
Photo 2: Yakisoba Bento, a product I've enjoyed since my student days. Perhaps because it's sourced directly from the region, it tastes a little different from other companies' products I eat in Tokyo.