A senior official of the Japan Football Association (JFA), Masanaga Kageyama, has been handed an 18-month suspended prison sentence in France for viewing child pornography during a flight, a French court official said on Tuesday.
Kageyama, the JFA’s technical director, was arrested during a stopover at Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris last week while en route to Chile, reportedly for the Under-20 World Cup, according to Le Parisien.
The incident came to light when flight attendants noticed him viewing illegal images on his laptop in the business-class cabin of an Air France flight and alerted authorities.
The Bobigny prosecutor’s office confirmed that the 58-year-old was convicted of importing, possessing, recording, or storing pornographic images of minors under 15. In addition to the suspended sentence, the court imposed a €5,000 (£4,180) fine, a 10-year ban on working with minors, and a prohibition on entering France for the next decade. He will also be placed on France’s national sex offenders’ register.
During the hearing, Kageyama admitted to viewing the images but claimed he was unaware of French law. He said the pictures were generated by artificial intelligence and expressed deep shame for his actions.
He spent the weekend in police custody before his court appearance on Monday, after which he was released.
Kageyama, a former J-League player and coach, is responsible for strengthening Japan’s football teams, developing youth talent, and training coaches. He has previously managed Japan’s under-20, under-19, and under-18 teams.