Japan extends financial support for WADA, while Asia and Oceania remain in focus for strengthening the anti-doping system
The Japan Anti-Doping Agency will continue next year to financially support the development of anti-doping organizations in Asia and Oceania, after a long-standing agreement with the World Anti-Doping Agency, the global regulatory body for the fight against doping in sport, was renewed. According to WADA's announcement, the additional Japanese support may amount to up to 27,562,431 yen, or approximately 150,000 euros, and is intended primarily for the Global Learning and Development Framework programme and for the development of knowledge, skills and operational capacities of anti-doping organizations in the region. This is a continuation of cooperation which, according to Japanese and international anti-doping sources, has for years relied on Japan's role as one of the more important financial and professional partners in the regional strengthening of the clean sport system.
The renewal of the agreement comes in a week in which the international anti-doping system had several important regional and institutional developments. WADA announced the continuation of Japanese support, cooperation in Southeast Asia was further formalized through agreements linked to ASEAN, SEARADO and the International Testing Agency, while in Spain WADA's investigation into alleged irregularities in the work of the national anti-doping body ended with the conclusion that claims of systemic manipulation of procedures were not substantiated. Together, these events show that the global fight against doping increasingly relies on regional networks, standardized education of experts and the exchange of operational information between institutions.
Japanese support focused on knowledge and operational capacities
According to WADA, the funds provided by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency will be used to support organizations in Asia and Oceania, especially through educational and development activities intended for professionals working in the anti-doping system. WADA states that the Global Learning and Development Framework serves as a standardized framework for training people who perform various anti-doping roles, including areas of testing, results management, athlete education, therapeutic exemptions and other professional tasks. Such an approach is important because the anti-doping system is not based only on taking samples, but also on proper test planning, protection of athletes' rights, timely processing of results and harmonization of national systems with international standards.
The Japanese side, according to earlier announcements by the Japan Anti-Doping Agency, has for more than ten years supported anti-doping activities in Asia and Oceania through cooperation with WADA. In the initial stages, the emphasis was more strongly directed at the field of doping controls, but in recent years the support has also expanded to education, organizational development and strengthening of the overall institutional environment. JADA stated in earlier information that the support is carried out within programmes linked to the Japan Sports Agency, which places the Japanese contribution in a broader framework of public policy aimed at international sports cooperation.
The renewed amount of up to 27,562,431 yen is an addition to Japan's regular obligations toward WADA. In previous announcements, WADA emphasized that Japan's additional funds have a practical effect because they enable the holding of direct regional training sessions and the development of programmes that would otherwise be more difficult for smaller or resource-limited anti-doping organizations to access. For many national and regional organizations in Asia and Oceania, such programmes are particularly important because differences in administrative, laboratory and financial capacities can directly affect the quality of implementation of anti-doping rules.
Why the GLDF is important for the clean sport system
The Global Learning and Development Framework, according to WADA's description, was developed to enable anti-doping organizations to train staff more systematically and uniformly. WADA emphasizes that the programme's goal is to raise professional standards in the global anti-doping community and provide clearer competency frameworks for people involved in implementing rules. In practice, this means that experts from different countries need to work according to comparable procedures, understand the same international standards and be trained for procedures that may have serious consequences for sports careers.
Such harmonization is especially important in regions with large differences between more developed and less developed sports administrations. An anti-doping case often does not end with the laboratory finding itself, but includes a series of procedural steps: notifying the athlete, checking possible therapeutic exemptions, analysing possible deviations in the athlete biological passport, managing evidence and a possible disciplinary procedure. If an individual organization does not have enough trained experts, the risk of procedural errors, inconsistent practice and lengthy disputes increases.
WADA's framework therefore also has a preventive dimension. Education of athletes, coaches and support personnel is part of a system that should reduce the risk of rule violations, especially in cases arising from ignorance, incorrect use of medicines or misunderstanding of the rules on therapeutic exemptions. In that sense, Japanese support is not only funding for training, but an investment in the region's ability to implement better, more credible and fairer anti-doping programmes itself.
Broader regional context: ASEAN and Southeast Asia
In the same period, WADA announced that it had signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, an organization of Southeast Asian states, for cooperation on the development of anti-doping programmes. According to announcements by ASEAN and WADA, the agreement is focused on strengthening institutional capacities, education, programme harmonization and support for anti-doping activities in member states. This further connects the fight against doping with regional sports structures, rather than leaving it only within the framework of individual national agencies.
Such a model of cooperation has special significance for Southeast Asia, a region with a large number of international competitions, increasing sports mobility and diverse levels of institutional development. A regional approach can help in sharing experts, harmonizing educational materials, better coordination of testing and faster exchange of information. In the anti-doping system, especially when athletes train, compete or live in several countries, isolated national programmes are often not enough for effective risk control.
A similar emphasis is visible in the memorandum signed by the International Testing Agency and the Southeast Asia Regional Anti-Doping Organisation. The ITA announced that the agreement with SEARADO covers testing coordination, exchange of intelligence and operational information, educational initiatives and cooperation in areas such as the athlete biological passport. According to the ITA, SEARADO brings together anti-doping efforts in Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Vietnam, which gives the agreement a regional reach beyond individual national programmes.
ITA and SEARADO expand the network of operational cooperation
The International Testing Agency states that the agreement with SEARADO is part of a broader network of cooperation with national and regional anti-doping organizations. According to the ITA announcement, SEARADO is joining a group of 40 national and regional organizations that have cooperation agreements with that agency. The ITA, headquartered in Lausanne, was established to provide independent anti-doping services to sports federations and competition organizers, and in international sport it increasingly takes over operational testing tasks and programme management for various sports.
For Southeast Asia, such an agreement means access to broader experience in risk-based test planning, exchange of intelligence data and coordination of athlete biological passports. The biological passport does not rely only on a single positive finding, but monitors changes in an athlete's biological parameters over time, which can help detect suspicious patterns. Its effective application requires expertise, stable administration and good data exchange, which is why regional agreements are particularly relevant.
Statements by the heads of the ITA and SEARADO, according to the ITA announcement, emphasize that cooperation is not reduced only to a larger number of tests. Benjamin Cohen, Director General of the ITA, stressed the importance of reliable partnerships, exchange of expertise and operational coordination. SEARADO President Gatot S. Dewa Broto assessed that cooperation with the ITA is a natural continuation of the development of anti-doping programmes in the region. Such formulations point to a shift toward longer-term institutional strengthening, and not only toward occasional campaigns ahead of major competitions.
The Spanish case shows the sensitivity of anti-doping investigations
While the emphasis in Asia and Oceania is placed on capacity development, in Europe attention was drawn by WADA's investigation connected with the Spanish Commission for the Fight against Doping in Sport, known by the acronym CELAD. According to WADA's publicly available list of investigation reports, the investigation called Operation Urraca dealt with alleged violations of the World Anti-Doping Code and deviations from international standards attributed to the management of the Spanish body. WADA, according to the available summary of the report and reporting by specialized sports media, concluded that the claims were not substantiated to the extent that would prove systemic manipulation of procedures.
The case is important because it shows how sensitive anti-doping systems are to the issue of trust. Even when claims prove unfounded, the very possibility of suspicion about the work of a national body can damage the credibility of procedures, especially if it concerns the processing of positive findings, therapeutic exemptions or disciplinary decisions. That is precisely why WADA's supervision, investigations and publication of reports have a broader function: they do not serve only to determine individual irregularities, but also to confirm that anti-doping organizations must work according to verifiable standards.
According to the available information, WADA closed the investigation after it did not confirm allegations of systemic concealment or manipulation. At the same time, the case remains a reminder that anti-doping rules must be applied equally strictly to athletes and to the organizations that implement them. If a body responsible for control does not act transparently, the consequences can be twofold: athletes may lose trust in the procedure, and the public may conclude that the system is not equal for everyone.
The global system increasingly relies on regional networks
Three parallel processes, Japanese funding of WADA's development programmes, agreements in Southeast Asia and the investigation in Spain, show different sides of the same problem. The fight against doping is no longer only a matter of laboratory detection of prohibited substances, but a complex institutional system that requires trained people, international coordination, consistent application of rules and constant checking of those who implement the rules. Without such infrastructure, even the strictest rules may remain ineffective or unevenly applied.
WADA's World Anti-Doping Code sets the basic rules, but their everyday implementation depends on national agencies, regional organizations, sports federations, laboratories, educators and investigators. In regions where resources are limited, international financial and professional support can be crucial for establishing minimally comparable standards. Japanese support for the GLDF therefore has importance that goes beyond the donation amount itself, because it finances a mechanism through which knowledge is transferred beyond the most developed sports systems.
On the other hand, agreements with ASEAN and SEARADO show that the fight against doping increasingly includes regional political and sports structures. Such an approach can facilitate coordination between countries that share sports events, athlete migration and similar institutional challenges. When the ITA is also included, bringing operational experience in testing and risk analysis, regional programmes gain an additional layer of professional support.
Fairness of procedure remains as important as strictness of control
In public, anti-doping policy is often reduced to the question of positive findings and sanctions, but institutional development shows that how procedures are conducted is equally important. An athlete must have the right to a clear procedure, timely notification, the possibility of explanation and application of rules that are the same for everyone. Organizations, on the other hand, must have the expertise and resources to avoid errors that can lead to annulment of procedures or lengthy legal disputes.
That is precisely why WADA and partner organizations increasingly emphasize expert education, development of standards and regional cooperation. A system that relies only on sanctions, and does not invest in prevention, education and the quality of procedures, can hardly maintain the trust of athletes and the public in the long term. Japanese support, ASEAN's memorandum and the ITA agreement with SEARADO point to the direction in which anti-doping policy is developing: toward a combination of control, education and institutional responsibility.
For Asia and Oceania, regions with a large number of athletes, competitions and national systems of different levels of development, continued funding of the GLDF could mean a more stable approach to staff training and better connection with global anti-doping standards. For Southeast Asia, the new agreements open space for operational harmonization and greater exchange of information. For the broader anti-doping system, the Spanish case remains a reminder that supervision of institutions must be as important as supervision of athletes.
Sources:
- World Anti-Doping Agency – announcement on the continuation of additional Japanese funding for the development of anti-doping organizations in Asia and Oceania (link)
- World Anti-Doping Agency – description of the Global Learning and Development Framework programme (link)
- World Anti-Doping Agency – announcement on the three-year memorandum of understanding with ASEAN (link)
- ASEAN – information on the signing of the memorandum of understanding with WADA (link)
- International Testing Agency – announcement on the memorandum with SEARADO and cooperation in Southeast Asia (link)
- World Anti-Doping Agency – list of investigation reports, including Operation Urraca connected with CELAD (link)
- Inside The Games – report on WADA's closing of the Operation Urraca investigation in Spain (link)