TOKYO: Research showing that an average of four children die each year during judo lessons in Japan has alarmed some parents as the country prepares to introduce martial arts as a compulsory school sport.

Yoshihiro Murakawa is one of those concerned about the government's plan, because he is convinced his 12-year-old nephew died in a reckless judo practice.

The Japan Judo Accident Victims Association, which Murakawa helped create with other families last March, has urged the government to set safety guidelines for judo at school.

“Many factors are involved here,” Murakawa said of his nephew Koji's death during judo club training.

“First of all, many judo instructors at Japanese schools are too ignorant about what to do when a serious incident occurs,” he told AFP.

Murakawa also criticised some judo club instructors at Japanese schools for neglecting safety measures, such as letting children rest properly.

Koji's mother had asked for special attention to be paid to him when he joined the judo club at a middle school in central Shiga prefecture, because he had an asthma problem.

But one afternoon in July 2009, Koji was still tackling older students and the instructor in the freestyle “randori” training despite being exhausted, Murakawa quoted students as saying.

After a final throw, Koji lost consciousness and fell into a coma before dying a month later, Murakawa said.

At least 110 children were killed in school judo practice over 27 years from 1983, according to research by Ryo Uchida, an assistant professor at Aichi University of Education.

“In judo, the number of cases in which trainees die due to techniques unique to the sport such as throwing is significantly high,” said Uchida. In 2009 and 2010 alone, 13 children have died and the latest case, involving a six-year-old boy, occurred in November, a local newspaper reported.

Parents have been alarmed by the statistics because Japan plans to introduce traditional martial arts, including judo, as a required subject not only for boys but also girls at middle schools from 2012.—AFP