Miura (left) and bronze medallist Japan's Sota Yamamoto with their medals after the men's competition at the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships in Beijing on Jan 25, 2026. Miura said he had received a barrage of abusive messages at the competition in Beijing, which he went on to win. — AFP
TOKYO: Japan's Olympic committee is monitoring social media round the clock to protect athletes at the Milan-Cortina Games from online abuse and has already asked for hundreds of posts to be removed.
Six staff members in Milan and a further 16 in Tokyo will scour social media 24 hours a day, using AI tools to help detect malicious material.
Operations began in mid-January and local media said that officials had identified roughly 2,000 potentially inappropriate posts before Friday's opening ceremony.
Reports said the Japan Olympic Committee had requested the removal of 380 social media posts. Kyodo News said "dozens" were deleted.
Japanese figure skater Kao Miura said online abuse was "unacceptable because it hurts and saddens people".
The 20-year-old said he had received a barrage of abusive messages at last month's Four Continents Championships in Beijing, which he went on to win.
"The notifications were annoying," he said.
The head of Japan's delegation at the Milan-Cortina Games, Hidehito Ito, asked people to "support the athletes".
"The athletes have worked incredibly hard to get this far, and thoughtless words can take a big toll on their mental state," he said. – AFP
