Japan Open Figure Skating

The country’s top skaters take on the world in Saitama

Mao Asada

What is it about figure skating? I grew up thinking it was a beautiful representation of wholesome young people expressing their skills and art on ice. It turns out it’s closer to Rollerball, Thelma and Louise and The Godfather. Dirty sport? It makes professional boxing look like, er, well actually, it looks exactly like professional boxing, but with judges from the German soccer league and assistants from The Sopranos.

And to think people were once shocked that 1984 Olympic gold medalist John Curry was gay. What a sport. First, you have Tonya Harding’s thuggish associates trying to break Nancy Kerrigan’s kneecap at the US trials to prevent her from going to the 1994 Olympics. Then you have a never‑ending series of officiating scandals: two judges were suspended in 1999 for appearing to confer at the World Championships, and almost everyone was convinced that Russian and French judges had conspired against the Canadians at the Nagano Olympics. These incidents were overshadowed at the Salt Lake City Games, when two sets of gold medals were awarded in the pairs due to another judging scandal. (On top of that, I am convinced that Lu Chen of China was also robbed at Nagano.)

Thank God for Japan, last bastion of the amateur and home of the incorruptible. Whoooah! I spoke too soon. On April 25, the Japan Skating Federation announced that eight of its executives would resign over questionable financial dealings that caused the organization’s assets to mysteriously contract by more than ¥300 million from 1997 to 2004. Eight directors, including acting President Mitsuzo Fujimori and Managing Director Mitsuo Matsumoto, will step down on June 30 to take responsibility for “inappropriate” bookkeeping practices within the international division. Perhaps they just can’t add up correctly. Or—and I’ve no idea if this could be right—perhaps they just stole money that should have gone to athletes or helped develop the sport. (I also wonder if this affair has any connection to a recent report claiming Miki Ando, the former queen of Japanese skating, only receives 1 percent of the money that the Japan Olympic Committee allegedly earns for marketing her image.)

And how is it that Ando actually managed to get to the Olympics this year? Well, a fortunate points system that took into account her earlier good performances, which helped to compensate for the skater’s recent terrible form. Lucky for those sponsors eager to capitalize on the Ando features. Unfortunately, Ando only finished 15th in Turin, and her poor showing was blamed by some on her being too fat. With Shizuka Arakawa winning the gold medal, it seems that nobody really cares about poor Miki‑chan anymore, and that’s probably good news for the 18‑year‑old; now, perhaps, people will leave her alone and she will be able to concentrate on her skating.

Currently, the voracious Japanese media can’t get enough of Arakawa, while it seems competitions can’t get any of her. Not surprising, as she can earn a fortune in exhibition events and personal appearances. There are some who said she only won gold because Mao Asada, who pulled off a stunning win in the ISU Grand Prix finale in Tokyo in December, was too young to compete in Turin. Japan is now pinning all its figure skating hopes on Asada, who is likely to come under the same scrutiny as Ando (although she’s currently a lot thinner).

Those who want to judge these three excellent skaters for themselves should head up to the Japan Open, which pits Japan against teams from North America and Europe and features both women and men. Japan’s team consists of Ando, Asada, Daisuke Takahashi and Takeshi Honda, while Arakawa will perform an exhibition skate—which probably explains the ticket prices.

Saitama Super Arena, May 14. See sports listings for details.

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