Yasutoshi Okuno, the father of the Kwansei Gakuin University quarterback who was illegally hit from behind by a Nihon University defensive end during their exhibition game on May 6 in Tokyo, hopes the defender can begin playing football again.
"I have kept saying this from the beginning, but I hope to see him playing against my son again on the field, of course fairly next time," Okuno, an Osaka City council member, said during an exclusive interview with The Japan Times on Monday at the Fuji Television Network, Inc. office in Tokyo. "He received enough of a public reprimand after he held a news conference and apologized. He said he didn't have the right to resume playing football, but he will want to play again if he still loves football.
"But to make it happen, (Nihon University president Hidetoshi) Tanaka should publicly take accountability, not through a statement on the school's website, but by making an appearance in public," Okuno said.