- - Japan sets up '24/7' task force to combat online abuse during Milan Cortina Winter Olympics

DANIELLA MATAR February 2, 2026 at 4:56 AM

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FILE - A man walks past the Olympic rings installed outside the Japan Olympic Museum in Tokyo, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023. (AP Photo/Hiro Komae, file) ()

MILAN (AP) — The Japanese Olympic Committee has set up a special task force to monitor and deal with online abuse round the clock during the Milan Cortina Winter Games.

The move comes after several athletes at the Paris Summer Olympics in 2024 endured a barrage of insults on social media.

The situation became so bad that the JOC released a statement during those Games, asking for people to think before they posted and adding that it would consider reporting excessive content to the police or taking legal action.

It is aiming to prevent the athletes from seeing the abuse this time around.

“As a new initiative we are going to be tackling online abuse,” Japan Chef de Mission Hidehito Ito said through an interpreter on Monday. “From both Japan and Milan we are going to be monitoring abusive online posts.

“Experts will be monitoring and if we find something harmful we will ask the platform to delete this post.”

The team will be made up of 22 staff members, 16 in Japan and six in Milan, with a lawyer in each location.

“The reason we have set up the teams in both Milan and Japan is because of the time difference,” Ito added. “We want to make sure we are monitoring online posts 24/7.”

The Japanese government has significantly upped its fight against online abuse since the death by suicide of reality TV star and wrestler Hana Kimura in 2020 after the 22-year-old was the victim of cyberbullying.

In 2022, Japan implement significantly stricter penalties for online abuse, including up to a year in prison.

A bill passed in 2024 that came into effect last year requires major operators to swiftly deal with abuse or potentially face hefty fines.

The JOC will also work with the International Olympic Committee in their efforts to combat cyberbullying.

“We are currently coordinating with the IOC on how we will work together going forward. As JOC, we are closely monitoring the IOC’s approach and considering in which areas we can cooperate," JOC official Naoya Yanagiya said. "At the same time, we are mindful of differences in culture and practices, and we are taking those into account as we determine how best to proceed.

"Through a range of experiences at the Paris Games, the World Athletics Championships, and now the Milan Cortina Games, we will continue to gain experience and make adjustments as we move forward. Throughout the tournament, our team handling defamatory content will maintain regular communication with the IOC and continue coordination as necessary.”

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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

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