The Japan Pro Boxing Association (JPBA) and the Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) met on Tuesday in an emergency meeting after Hiromasa Urakawa and Shigetoshi Kotari died on the same fight card earlier this month
Tuesday 12 August 2025 17:09, UK
Japanese boxing officials have announced stricter rules on weight loss and introduced urine tests after the death of two boxers in the same event earlier this month.
Hiromasa Urakawa and Shigetoshi Kotari died in separate bouts on August 2 in Tokyo.
Both boxers had surgery for subdural haematoma – a condition where blood collects between the skull and brain.
The exact reason for both fighters’ deaths is yet to be confirmed but dehydration caused by fast weight cutting is seen as a factor in making the brain more susceptible to bleeding, according to the World Boxing Association.
The Japan Boxing Commission (JBC) announced all Oriental and Pacific Boxing Federation (OPBF) had already announced title fights will be 10 rounds instead of 12.
They have now voted to introduced urine tests to measure dehydration, plus a requirement for ambulances to be on site for all bouts and that hospitals are ready to perform emergency surgery for head and other injuries.
Tsuyoshi Yasukochi is the secretary general of the Japanese Boxing Commission
“Officials have decided to take all possible measures to ensure that the deaths of these two boxers are not in vain,” said Tsuyoshi Yasukochi, secretary general of the Japanese Boxing Commission.
Yasukochi also said an investigation into the boxers’ deaths will take place later this month and guidance on prevention measures will be updated.
A safety meeting will also be held which will include doctors of Japan’s boxing commissions and amateur boxing federations.