JRFU Receives & Acknowledges Long-Overdue Apology from Asia Rugby Over Kensuke Iwabuchi Fiasco

The JRFU President Masato Tsuchida has issued a statement in response to Asia Rugby’s official acknowledgement that it was an error on their part to suspend the position of Vice Chairman of Asia Rugby of Kensuke Iwabuchi in 2025 “without justifiable reason”.

This public apology by Asia Rugby was in the form of a statement released on July 17, 2026, in which the JRFU says Asia Rugby officially acknowledged that Mr Iwabuchi had not engaged in any problematic conduct and that there was no basis for the suspension imposed in February 2025.

The regional governing body also acknowledged that the statement they had released to the media at the time was misleading and inaccurate, and has now completely retracted that statement.

For those who have not been following this saga over the past 18 months or more, Asia Rugby suspended former Executive Director of the Japan Rugby Association and former Vice Chairman of Asia Rugby, Kensuke Iwabuchi

An Asia Rugby Oversight Committee (OC), a task force set up by World Rugby due to ongoing governance and financial issues, released findings in a World Rugby Disciplinary Officer (DDO) report in April 2025, and concluded that Mr Iwabuchi had not breached any Asia Rugby or World Rugby rules.

There was no actual public apology from Asia Rugby President Qais Al-Dhalai. That is what the JRFU had asked for in April 2025 following World Rugby OC findings. 

Since then, Mr Iwabuchi has changed roles and now serves as an assistant to the chairman of our association, and he resigned from his position as vice chairman of Asia Rugby in June 2026.

We refer again to our article in December 2025, which outlined the broader issues of Asia Rugby and the OC findings, which stated that the OC concludes that Asia Rugby acted with complete disregard for its own processes in Mr Iwabuchi’s suspension for the following reasons: 

• Asia Rugby President confirmed that the decision to issue a press release on the suspension of Mr Iwabuchi was made by him together with the Asia Rugby CEO. The AR ExCo was not consulted on this decision.
• The “suspension” was unconstitutional.
• Asia Rugby’s process was not adhered to.
• Mr Iwabuchi continued to be excluded from taking part in the activities of his office, to which he was legitimately elected.

Photo Credit – The Japan Times

A segment from the OC report on this matter said in black and white (at the time): “Asia Rugby’s continued exclusion of Mr Iwabuchi without a clear basis poses a threat to the legitimacy of all of its actions and the standing of Asia Rugby’s decision-making bodies within the wider rugby community…..these events have caused disquiet and an erosion of trust amongst member unions”

Over this period, SEARF and CASA have both formed, and the east-west rift is a real one even if it remains unrecognised.

Masato Tsuchida, President of the JRFU said on 19th August 2026: “While we appreciate Asia Rugby’s acknowledgement of its unfair treatment of Kensuke Iwabuchi, it is regrettable that it took so long to rectify this issue.

In April 2025, an independent disciplinary committee of World Rugby concluded that there was no basis for suspending Iwabuchi from Asia Rugby’s board and that he had not engaged in any problematic conduct. Since then, our association has been demanding a formal apology from Asia Rugby.

Therefore, we acknowledge that Asia Rugby has finally acknowledged its own governance and procedural shortcomings in suspending Iwabuchi without just cause.” They believe that this acknowledgement is a natural and fair response.

The JRFU added that Mr Iwabuchi has made “significant contributions to the development of rugby in Japan and Asia over many years, and has always approached this wonderful sport with sincerity and passion.

The Japan Rugby Football Association appreciates that Asia Rugby has finally acknowledged that the suspension of Mr. Iwabuchi was a mistake, and we are pleased that this issue has been brought to a close.”

JRFU and Asia Rugby News

• World Rugby Issues Asia Rugby a Yellow Card – Evidence Suggests It Should Be a Red.
• JRFU Announce Board for 2026-2027: Masato Tsuchida Remains as President.
• JRFU Raises Concerns About Asia Rugby Leadership – Kensuke Iwabuchi Resigns As Vice President of Asia Rugby.
• World Rugby And JRFU Respond to Ruling Of Asia Rugby’s Baseless Suspension of the JRFU Chairman