The International Fencing Federation elected Japanese world champion and double Olympic medalist Yuki Ota as a member of its executive board Sunday.
Ota, who retired after this year's Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where he lost in the round of 32 in individual foil, will serve a four-year term on the board.
"Japan has too few sports organizations and athletes that go onto the international stage," Ota said. "In Japan, athletes are trained to follow rules, but it is important to be on the side that makes them, and all the more so as the Tokyo Olympics will come and Japan will have to internationalize further."