The scandal-ridden All Japan Judo Federation will hold an extraordinary meeting of councilors on July 30 to discuss a proposal to dismiss 23 directors, including chairman Haruki Uemura.

The very submission of the proposal testifies to the seriousness of the problems the federation is facing. The federation needs to have Mr. Uemura take responsibility for the problems in a clear way — by resigning. If it does not come up with a convincing conclusion, it will further deepen people's distrust of it.

In January it surfaced that the coach of the All-Japan women's judo team used violence on female judo players during practice. The coach, Mr. Ryuji Sonoda, resigned Feb. 1.