In a shocking development that has stunned Japanese football, Masanao Kageyama, the Technical Director of the Japan Football Association (JFA), has been convicted in France for possessing and viewing child sexual exploitation material while on board a flight.
According to AFP and other media reports on October 8, a French court sentenced Kageyama (58) to one year and six months in prison, suspended, along with a €5,000 fine (approximately ₩826,000). He was found guilty of importing, possessing, recording, and storing sexual images of minors under the age of 15.
Caught Mid-Flight with Illegal Images
Kageyama was reportedly sitting in a business-class seat on a connecting flight passing through France when he was caught by a flight attendant watching inappropriate material on his laptop. He was immediately detained at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris.
At the time, he was en route to attend the FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile as part of his duties with the JFA.
Initially, Kageyama claimed that the images were “AI-generated art”, not illegal content. However, during the court proceedings, he admitted to viewing exploitative material and told the judge he “did not know it was illegal in France.”
As part of the ruling, Kageyama will be added to France’s national sex offender registry and banned from entering the country for the next ten years.
JFA Terminates Contract and Issues Apology
The Japan Football Association (JFA) announced the immediate termination of Kageyama’s contract, calling the incident “deeply regrettable.”
“We sincerely apologize for the great concern and discomfort this incident has caused,” the JFA said in a statement.
At a press conference in Tokyo, JFA Secretary-General Kazuyuki Yukawa condemned the incident, saying,
“This is something that should never have happened. We will work together to ensure such misconduct never occurs again.”
According to Yukawa, Kageyama has not yet returned to Japan and is currently staying in France following his detention over the weekend and court appearance on October 6, after which he was released.
A Respected Figure — Until Now
Kageyama, a former J-League player, had built a strong reputation as a coach and football development leader.
As JFA Technical Director, he oversaw national team performance, youth training programs, and coaching education across Japan’s football system. He had previously managed Japan’s U-20 national team and Singapore’s U-16 squad.
Ironically, Kageyama was well known to Korean football fans for his past comments comparing Japan’s football development with that of South Korea.
During an April JFA technical committee meeting, he pointed to Korea’s recent poor youth-level performances, stating:
“We must learn from Korea’s decline in football standards. I don’t mean to belittle them, but if we let our guard down, we could end up the same way.”
He also remarked,
“There used to be a kind of Korean football we disliked — strong, physical, passionate. That’s disappearing now. Japan must maintain its technical identity while challenging the more intense and physical football seen abroad. We must not become like Korea.”
Now, the man once credited with steering Japan’s football future finds his career — and reputation — in ruins, overshadowed by one of the most serious scandals ever to hit the nation’s sporting establishment.
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