90% of National H.S. Ekiden Runner-Up Omuta H.S. Team to Transfer in Protest Over School’s Treatment of Head Coach

A close 2nd at December’s National High School Ekiden, 90% of the members of the five-time national champion Omuta H.S. team in Fukuoka will transfer to Tottori Johoku H.S. in Tottori at the start of the new school year next month. The mass transfer comes as a backlash against Omuta’s treatment of head coach Ken Akaike, 52, with most team members and parents choosing to continue running under Akaike following his move to Johoku.

Akaike had resigned as head coach at Omuta in March, 2023 after it came out that he had used corporal punishment on team members. But many team members at the time and their parents asked him to continue, and he returned to a coaching position at the school after undergoing training. Effectively serving as head coach, he led the team at last December’s National High School Ekiden where they finished 2nd in a close-fought battle that went all the way to the end.

According to multiple sources, in November the month before the National High School Ekiden the school administration communicated to involved parties that it would hire Daisuke Isomatsu, 51, assistant coach at the Toyota Kyushu corporate team in Fukuoka and an Omuta H.S. graduate, as head coach starting in the 2025-26 academic year, with Akaike to serve as his assistant. Effectively a demotion, parents and team members repeatedly asked the school to reverse the decision, saying that it not put the needs of the students first. But the school refused, leading Akaishi to lead Omuta at the end of March and take a position at Johoku H.S.

Regulations state that students who transfer schools are not allowed to compete at the National High School Track and Field Championships or National High School Ekiden within six months of their transfer except in special circumstances like natural disasters. After discussion with parents of the regulations’ implications, 18 of the 19 current Omuta 1st and 2nd-year students chose to transfer to Johoku, with one student opting to remain in order to compete at this summer’s National High School Track and Field Championships. The majority of the 15 new students recruited to join Omuta in April have also chosen to go to Johoku instead.

In an interview, Omuta vice principal Shinichi Araki said that while the school acknowledged that a large number of students had filed paperwork to transfer, “Not a single one of them feels good about doing this. We can express only regret about it.” Akaike commented, “It is my role to properly develop both the transferring students and those already at Johoku. I want to do my absolute best.”