Overview
- Tokyo prosecutors indicted 26-year-old former national-team player Sato Shunichiro on June 17 for violating the Narcotics Control Law by possessing dried cannabis.
- Prosecutors allege roughly 0.831 grams of dried cannabis were discovered on May 27 inside a bag Sato left at a pachinko parlor in Itabashi, Tokyo, while he was at a national-team training camp.
- The Japan Volleyball Association removed Sato from the national-team registry on May 28 after the substance was found.
- The Tokyo District Court granted Sato bail on June 18 after his defense paid 2 million yen, and he made a public apology saying he is deeply remorseful.
- The case will proceed through Japan's criminal-justice process and highlights broader questions about drug laws, stigma for athletes, team governance, and what support or discipline elite players receive.