Japan's women grapple for judo equality

A key principle of judo is 'ju yoku go wo seisu' (softness subdues hardness), meaning that physically weaker judoka can use an opponent's power against them. Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Johnson Barros

Judo's founder Jigoro Kano was decades ahead of his time by empowering women to take up the sport that prizes technique over brute force.

But Japan's female judoka have long grappled for equality, enduring discrimination and a headline-grabbing abuse scandal even while they were winning recognition with their brilliance on the mat.