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Japan’s top beach volleyball competition banned all photography after players raised concerns about voyeuristic and “inappropriate” images being taken during matches.
The Japan Volleyball Association (JVA) banned all photography — including recording images on smart glasses — during the Tonarino round of 2026 Japan Beach Volleyball Tour in Nagoya last weekend, according to multiple local reports. The JVA apologized to photographers following the ban, but said that players at the country’s leading beach volleyball tour for men and women had complained that they were “unable to concentrate on their performance” due to the possibility of “malicious” photos being captured.
“We sincerely apologize to all those who were looking forward to watching and taking photographs, but our top priority is to maintain an environment where the competing athletes can concentrate on their performance with peace of mind,” the JVA says in a statement, according to Japan Today.
“Despite our repeated guidance and reminders regarding the rules and etiquette for photography, we have observed malicious photography by some spectators at the Hekinan round,” the JVA explains. “We take a very serious view of the fact that inappropriate photography has not improved despite repeated warnings.”
According to a report by South China Morning Post, the ban came following an incident on the first day of the two-day Nagoya Hekinan round of the 2026 Japan Beach Volleyball Tour the weekend before. Officials say there had been evidence of “malicious filming behaviour” and that “inappropriate recording” had not improved despite repeated warnings. In addition to the photography ban, the JVA also prohibited binoculars, opera glasses and similar devices at the sporting event.
While Japan is lauded for its low crime rates and general safety, iniquitous issues remain for women such as nonconsensual photography. In 2023, a bill against “photo voyeurism” was passed into law in Japan which prohibits acts such as “upskirting” and taking sexually exploitative images and videos of others without consent. However, women athletes in Japan receive a unique form of sexual harassment that is difficult to stamp out.
To combat this, Japanese sportswear brand Mizuno introduced an infrared-blocking fabric to protect female athletes from illicit photography which the country’s women’s team wore to the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Image credits: Header photo licensed via Depositphotos.
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