Japanese Athletes Expelled After Prostitution Scandal

(ATR) Four Japanese basketball players were sent home from the 2018 Jakarta Asian Games team today for inappropriate conduct.

Yasuhiro Yamashita, chef de mission of the Japan National Team apologized for the player's actions in apress conference on Monday.

The Japanese Olympic Committee revoked the credentials for violating the team's code of conduct. The four basketballers were found to have paid for prostitutes at Block M Mall in South Jakarta on August 16. Disciplinary action started three days later.

"We apologize to Japanese people for they failed to live up to the people's expectations," Yamashita said at the press conference.

Takuya Hashimoto, Yuya Nagayoshi, Takuma Sato, and Keita Imamura, were the four athletes sent home Yamashita said at the press conference.

According to the JOC, the basketball players were wearing shirts distributed by the JOC for the Asian Games. The group visited the mall around midnight returning to the Athletes Village before dawn. A Japanese reporter for the Asahi Shimbunclaimed to have seen the basketball players pay the prostitutes at the mall. The initial report, published on Aug. 19 prompted the JOC to take action against the wrongdoers.

The athletes flew home to Japan early Monday at their own expense.

The remaining eight members of the basketball team will continue to play in Jakarta.

The Japanese men's basketball team next match is Wednesday against Hong Kong, the final game of the first round. Currently Japan has one win and one loss.

Written by Hironori Hashimoto with additional reporting by Aaron Bauer

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