Ryuji Sonoda, head coach of the national women's judo team, submitted his letter of resignation Friday to the All Japan Judo Federation to take responsibility for physically abusing team members during practice.
The federation initially had planned to simply reprimand Sonoda and retain him as head coach, but he told a news conference Thursday it would be difficult to continue in the post because the incident has drawn substantial public attention.
"It's a shame that I have to quit under these circumstances. I feel the most responsible," Sonoda said after the judo federation accepted his resignation.