Nihon University staff downplayed drug use problem – Report

Nihon University officials at all levels tried to downplay a drug use problem before and after the arrest of an American football team player said to be involved, according to a third-party report on the scandal, writes Yukana Inoue for The Japan Times.

The report, submitted to Japan’s education ministry on Monday 30 October and unveiled at a news conference on Tuesday, highlights how the university’s system of governance led to the delay in taking action against the American football team’s culture of drug use, as well as other problems relating to how they responded to the scandal.

Following the arrest of a member of the American football team in August over possession of cannabis and an illegal stimulant, the ministry ordered the university to conduct a third-party investigation, under the suspicion that officials at various levels failed to share information appropriately regarding drug use in the team. In particular, the report indicated that staff on the team failed to immediately share information about possible drug use with higher-ups even though they became aware of it as early as October last year through reports from both students and their parents.
Full report on The Japan Times site