Timothy Lafaele, a 28-cap Japan international and a hero of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is among 24 players taking legal action over new eligibility rules that would class them as foreigners in Japan Rugby League One despite holding Japanese passports.
The rules, set to take effect in December when the League One season opens, require players to have resided in Japan for at least six of the nine years of elementary and junior high school to qualify for the highest eligibility category. Those who fall short would count as foreign players, with clubs favouring Japan-born players.
Lafaele was born in Samoa and moved to Japan at 18, played for a Japanese university and now holds a Japanese passport. He featured in Japan's win over Ireland at the 2019 World Cup. But under the new rules, that passport will no longer guarantee him playing time in the country's top professional league.
Seiji Makino, the lawyer representing the 24 players in a case before several Japanese courts, hopes changes can be made before the season opens. "This is a very simple story," Makino said at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. "It is about players who built their lives and careers in Japan under one set of rules and are now having the ground moved from under their feet."
"The passport says Japan. His national team is Japan but because of where he went to elementary school the league will now treat him differently from the Japanese players," he said.
Lafaele said the rule change came "out of the blue", and declined to discuss any link to immigration politics in Japan or the effect on his contract. "To come to Japan, having given so much to the rugby here and the community and being treated this way, it just saddens us," he said. "Insulted is a strong word as well. To me, when this first rule came I did feel insulted."
Of the 24 players who filed the case, only five agreed to be identified; many fear that speaking out could cause further problems. "Some players are forced into retirement. Some players are just waiting at home at the moment for this decision to change so they can have the opportunity to provide for their families and get playing contracts," he said.
Japan's rugby officials argue that the pool of Japan-born players is shrinking and that limiting foreign influence will help boost it. Lafaele said he supports developing more Japan-born players but doubts the restriction is the answer. "I see both sides of it. I see where the Japanese boys are coming from. They see it as more opportunities for them to play," he said. "I don't think kids will look at this competition and say, 'There are too many foreigners, I'll stop playing.'"
The dispute sits within a larger immigration debate in Japan, where Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has pushed tougher policies on foreigners amid complaints of stagnant salaries and rising prices.
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