Following the one-year postponement of the Tokyo Olympics, many of Japan's sports federations have been forced to negotiate contract extensions and make other concessions for foreign managers and coaches who were tasked with preparing Japanese athletes for the 2020 Games.
The majority are planning to remain in their positions, but there are a few cases where negotiations have hit a wall. Some coaches had already made plans for after this summer, when the Tokyo Olympics were originally slated to take place, while others required terms that hindered agreements.
Ulrik Kirkely of Denmark has been the Japanese women's handball team manager since 2016, and led the squad to a 10th-place finish at the world championships in Kumamoto last year. The result is the best Japan's women have achieved since the 1997 worlds, the first edition held with 24 teams.