Nothing to see here. That is the message being broadcast by schools in Japan taking part in the country’s annual spring baseball tournament to safeguard cheerleaders from upskirting pictures being taken by over-interested spectators.
Shorts have become mandatory for some youngsters to wear, while others have used strategically placed teachers to block would-be voyeurs already described by the country’s Olympic organizers as “despicable.”
Sky News reports the competition, being staged at Koshien stadium near Osaka involving 32 schools, is meant to showcase youth sporting talent and act as a potential recruiting ground for professional baseball clubs.
Instead it has become marred in recent years with the taking of sexualised images.
Female cheerleaders, often dressed in sleeveless tops and short skirts, are photographed without their consent and the pictures then posted online.
In response, girls from Takasaki High School in Gunma prefecture, northwest of Tokyo, performed in shorts this week with others soon predicted to follow.
あすは大会第5日
第96回センバツ高校野球NHKでは全試合生中継予定！
大会第5日第2試合に登場する
大阪桐蔭（大阪）の
「学校自慢」をご覧ください#センバツ#甲子園 pic.twitter.com/ADZWAukP5t— NHK甲子園 (@nhk_koushien) March 21, 2024
Takasaki teacher Kohei Shiozawa told the public broadcaster NHK: “Voyeuristic photos can potentially cause lifelong emotional damage to our students.”
Airi Ozawa, the head of the school’s cheerleading team, told the Mainichi Shimbun newspaper: “At first, I thought a skirt would be better, but when I actually wore [shorts] and started cheering, I felt a sense of unity as the outfits matched the baseball team uniforms.
“And they were easy to move about in. Now I can dance with peace of mind.”
In addition, teachers from the school patrol the bleachers at Koshien with signs asking spectators to not photograph students before sternly warning anyone who disobeys.
Earlier this week, teachers from another school positioned themselves between the cheerleaders and spectators to deter voyeurs.
File/This photo taken on August 22, 2022 shows cheerleaders for Sendai Ikuei, a school in Miyagi prefecture, during the final match against Shimonoseki Kokusai, a school in Yamaguchi prefecture, on the final day of the All-Japan High School Baseball Championship Tournament at Koshien Stadium in Nishinomiya, between Kobe and Osaka. (STR/JIJI PRESS/AFP via Getty Images)
The Guardian reported that in 2020, the Japan Olympic Committee described upskirting and other forms of secret photography targeting female athletes as “despicable,” warning it would empower stadium officials to check images taken by spectators during the Tokyo Games.
The sportswear manufacturer Mizuno has developed a special fabric it says will deter voyeurs from secretly using infrared cameras that produce a “see-through” effect.
The firm plans to make the textile commercially available for track and field uniforms, sports bras and swimsuits, according to the Asahi Shimbun.
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