There’s nothing to see here. This is the message that Japanese schools that participate in spring baseball tournaments every year broadcast to protect their cheerleaders from being photographed in upskirts by overly interested spectators.
While some youths are required to wear shorts, others are using strategically placed teachers to hunt down would-be voyeurs, who have already been described as “sneaky” by Olympic organizers. is being prevented.
sky news report The tournament, which involves 32 schools at Koshien Stadium near Osaka, is designed to showcase youth sporting talent and serve as a recruiting ground for professional baseball clubs.
Rather, it has been undermined in recent years by the filming of sexual images.
Female cheerleaders wearing sleeveless tops or short skirts are sometimes photographed without their consent and the photos posted online.
In response, girls from Takasaki High School in Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, performed in shorts this week, and others were expected to follow soon.
Tomorrow is the 5th day of the tournament
96th Senbatsu High School BaseballAll games will be broadcast live on NHK!
Broadcast schedule 👇https://t.co/c3s15XszyT
Appears in the 2nd game on the 5th day of the tournament
Osaka Toin (Osaka)
Please see “School Pride”#senbatsu#Koshien pic.twitter.com/ADZWAukP5t— NHK Koshien (@nhk_koushien) March 21, 2024
Kohei Shiozawa, a teacher at Takasaki, told public broadcaster NHK that “secretly taken photos can cause lifelong psychological damage to students.”
Airi Ozawa, head of the school’s cheerleading club, said: Mainichi Shimbun Newspaper: “At first I thought a skirt would be better, but when I actually tried it on… [shorts] When we started cheering, we felt a sense of unity with the uniforms and matching costumes of the baseball team.
“It was easy to move. Now I can dance with peace of mind.”
Additionally, school teachers patrolled the Koshien bleachers with placards asking spectators not to take photos of students, before issuing stern warnings to those who did not comply.
Earlier this week, teachers from another school stood between the cheerleaders and the audience to stop them from filming.
File/This photo was taken on August 22, 2022. On the final day of the National High School Baseball Championship, cheerleaders from Miyagi Prefecture’s Sendai Ikuei during the final game against Shimonoseki International in Yamaguchi Prefecture. At Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, between Kobe and Osaka. (STR/Jiji Press/AFP via Getty Images)
of guardian report In 2020, the Japanese Olympic Committee described panty shots and other forms of voyeurism targeting female athletes as “despicable” and warned it would give stadium officials the power to check images taken by spectators during the Tokyo Games. did.
Sportswear manufacturer Mizuno has developed a special fabric that it says can stop voyeurs from secretly using infrared cameras, which create a “see-through” effect.
The company plans to market the fiber in track and field uniforms, sports bras and swimwear, the paper said. Asahi Shimbun.
