Organizational Structure
The Japan Karate Association is the only independent karate entity legally and officially recognized by the Japanese government as an association of members (Shadan Hojin) for the promotion of karate. There is only one other authorized entity which falls under the umbrella of the JKA: the JKA World Federation (JKA/WF). No other organization shares this status. Likewise, the JKA is not dependent upon or subordinate to any other group, organization or entity. However, there are instances in which the JKA cooperates of its own volition with other organizations in an equal stance.
For the most part, the JKA is centrally organized and coordinated through Tokyo JKA HQ, although there are both National and Regional headquarters in most areas around the world.
The basic structure of the JKA’s executive committee is shown below.
JKA Organization
| Senior Advisor | Nakasone Yasuhiro (Former Prime Minister of Japan) | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chairman | Kusahara Katsuhide | ||
| Chief Instructor | Ueki Masaaki | ||
| Vice Chief Instructor | Oishi Takeshi | ||
| Acting Executive Director | Ogura Yasunori | ||
| Board of Directors | Araki Kiyoshi | Izumiya Seizo | Ibuki Bunmei |
| Ueki Masaaki | Oishi Takeshi | Ota Akihiro | |
| Ogura Yasunori | Kano Tadahiko | Kitai Kumiko | |
| Kusahara Katsuhide | Shina Katsutoshi | Terawaki Kazumine | |
| Nishino Shuhei | Matsuura Koichiro | Mitsuhori Haruki | |
| Mera Junichi | Yano Kenji | Yamamoto Hidekazu | |
| Yokouchi Takehisa | Yoshida Kanji | – | |
| Auditors | Ouchi Takami | Okazaki Masanori | – |
| Counsellors | Otsu Naonosuke | Hasumi Keiichi | Hoshino Muneyasu |
| Company Friends | Kon Matsuo | – | – |
Shihankai
| Chief Instructor | Ueki Masaaki | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Vice Chief Instructor | Oishi Takeshi | ||
| Technical Advisor | Mikami Takayuki | ||
| Honorary members of Shihankai Committee | Sakai Ryusuke | Tanaka Masahiko | Iida Norihiko |
| Members of Shihankai Committee | Ueki Masaaki | Osaka Yoshiharu | Oishi Takeshi |
| Takahashi Yasuoki | Kashimoto Kazuyoshi | Hashiguchi Shinobu | |
| Yano Kenji | Otsu Naonosuke | Mori Toshihiro | |
| Imura Takenori | Kurasako Kenro | Kawawada Minoru | |
| Ogura Yasunori | Imamura Tomio | Izumiya Seizo | |
| Shiina Katsutoshi | Nishino Shuhei | Sasamoto Juro | |
| Nakayama Hiroshige | Mera Junichi | Kanai Seikon | |
| Kawasaki Isao | Noda Yasuhiko | Seto Kensuke | |
| Mitsuhori Haruki | Yazawa Toshihiko | Kamino Masaru | |
| Watanabe Yasuyuki | Kano Tadahiko | Okajima Toshio | |
| Ichihashi Takuzo | Kishine Tsunemori | Nakatsuka Kiyoshi | |
| Kumagaya Shozo | Matsubara Hideo | Takahashi Kazuo | |
| Sawada Tadao | Shirai Kyoji | Kato Buko | |
| Matsui Hideto | Tanaka Shizuo | Iwata Yoshiaki | |
| Katano Yutaka | Goukon Ikuo | Takahashi Kuniya | |
| Kanjikai | Ueki Masaaki | Oishi Takeshi | Imura Takenori |
| Kurasako Kenro | Kawawada Minoru | Ogura Yasunori | |
| Imamura Tomio | Izumiya Seizo | Shiina Katsutoshi | |
| Shihankai Member | Hanzaki Yasuo | Naka Tatsuya | Taniyama Takuya |
| Takahashi Satoshi | Kobayashi Kunio | Matsukura Toru | |
| Yokouchi Takehisa | Sasaki Kietsu | Suzuki Tomohiro | |
| Hata Yoshihide | Taniguchi Takao | Nozaki Tsutomu | |
| Kasahara Tetsuo | Yui Shuji | Nagamori Shigeru | |
| Kawakami Hiroki | Nakajima Masashi | Okada Hiroshi | |
| Sasanuma Mitsuo | Mashimo Haruhiko | Sasaki Masaki | |
| Makanai Masanobu | Nishimura Kazuhiro | Nozaki Susumu | |
| Nemoto Isao | Koide Masao | Shinomiya Yuji | |
| Komiya Koji | Shoji kaiei | Tanigawa Yukio | |
| Kouda Iwao | Otani Shosuke | Kondo Masahiko | |
| Azu Kazuo | Orime Tetsuya | Morita Masaaki | |
| Morita Koji | Sasaki Kiyoshi | Yasuzato Masayoshi | |
| Kochi Norisato | Watanabe Kuniyoshi | Sakurai Yasuo | |
| Yamada Mitsuo | Araki Kiyoshi | Hiraishi kiichi | |
| Fukami Akira | Aihara Tomoyuki | Yamamoto Eiichi | |
| Fujita Masaharu | Furuta Masanori | Nagao Moriyasu | |
| Miura Kazuharu | Matsuwaka Masakatsu | Yotsui Mikio | |
| Furukawa Teruo | Koga Keizo | Yamamoto Katsuhiro | |
| Hashiguchi Yuji | Hashiguchi Tadashi | – | |
| Koyama Shojiro | Kisaka Katsuharu | Takahashi Shu | |
| Ochi Hideo | Sawada Kazuhiro | Sergio Gneo | |
| Naito Takeshi | Stan Schmidt | Kenneth Wittstock | |
| Jorgen Bura | Ted Hedlund | Jose Pacheco | |
| Aoki Osamu | Saeki Minoru | Nishimura Takaatsu | |
| Keith Geyer | Jim Wood | Ota Yoshinobu | |
| Machida Yoshizo | Inoue Mitsuo | Krepsz Janos | |
| Geir Arild Larsen | – | – | |
International Board of Directors
| Honorary Chairman | Kusahara Katsuhide | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Chief Instructor | Ueki Masaaki | ||
| Executive Director | Ogura Yasunori | ||
| Directors | Takahashi Shu (North America Region) | Saeki Minoru (North America Region) | Inoue Mitsuo(South America Region) |
| Ochi Hideo (Europe Region) | Jorgen Bura (Europe Region) | Edward Mtshari(Africa Region) | |
| Nishimura Takaatsu(Asia-Pacific Region) | Omura Fujikiyo (Asia-Pacific Region) | Yano Kenji (Instructors Committee) | |
| Mori Toshihiro (Instructors Committee) | Mera Junichi(Instructors Committee) | Oishi Takeshi (Instructors Committee) | |
| Kurasako Kenro (Instructors Committee) | Imura Takenori(Instructors Committee) | Izumiya Seizo (Instructors Committee) | |
| Kano Tadahiko (Instructors Committee) | Kawawada Minoru (Instructors Committee) | Imamura Tomio(Instructors Committee) | |
| Shina Katsutoshi (Instructors Committee) | – | – | |
Instructor Training Graduates
The following is a list of people who have completed the JKA’s special instructor training program. Please note that some of these individuals are no longer members of the JKA.
| Name | Grad | |
|---|---|---|
| Mikami Takayuki | 1957 | |
| Takaura Eiji | 1957 | |
| Tsushima Toshio | 1958 | |
| Yaguchi Yutaka | 1958 | |
| Ouchi Kyo | 1959 | |
| Sato Masaki | 1959 | |
| * | Saito Shigeru | 1959 |
| Inaba Mitsue | 1960 | |
| Kano Tadahiko | 1960 | |
| Watanabe Gunji | 1960 | |
| * | Ogata Kyoji | 1960 |
| Kisaka Katsuharu | 1961 | |
| Nakaya Ken | 1961 | |
| Ogawa Eiko | 1961 | |
| Ueki Masaaki | 1961 | |
| * | Enoeda Keinosuke | 1961 |
| Miyazaki Satoshi | 1961 | |
| * | Mori Osamu | 1961 |
| * | Takahashi Yoshimasa | 1961 |
| * | Majima Kenshiro | 1962 |
| Sakai Ryusuke | 1962 | |
| Jitsuhara Shoji | 1963 | |
| Ochi Hideo | 1963 | |
| Takahashi Yasuoki | 1963 | |
| * | Itaya Michihisa | 1963 |
| Oishi Takeshi | 1965 | |
| * | Tabata Yukichi | 1965 |
| Takashina Shigeru | 1966 | |
| Higashi Kunio | 1967 | |
| Iida Norihiko | 1967 | |
| * | Okamoto Hideki | 1967 |
| Takahashi Shunsuke | 1967 | |
| Yano Kenji | 1967 | |
| Baba Isamu | 1970 | |
| Horie Teruo | 1971 | |
| Nishino Shuhei | 1971 | |
| * | Hayakawa Norimasa | 1971 |
| Kanegae Kenji | 1972 | |
| Osaka Yoshiharu | 1972 | |
| Sasaki Yoshitaka | 1972 | |
| Sato Teruo | 1974 | |
| Mori Toshihiro | 1975 | |
| Imura Takenori | 1977 | |
| Kurasako Kenro | 1977 | |
| Kawawada Minoru | 1978 | |
| Komaki Masaki | 1978 | |
| Omura Fujikiyo | 1978 | |
| Fukami Akira | 1979 | |
| Kaneko Taneaki | 1979 | |
| Sakata Masashi | 1979 | |
| Abe Miwako | 1980 | |
| Tsuchii Takayuki | 1980 | |
| Yamamoto Hideo | 1980 | |
| Ogura Yasunori | 1982 | |
| Imamura Tomio | 1983 | |
| Kashiwagi Nobuyuki | 1984 | |
| Koike Tsuyoshi | 1984 | |
| Yokomichi Masaaki | 1984 | |
| Izumiya Seizo | 1986 | |
| Shiina Katsutoshi | 1986 | |
| Hanzaki Yasuo | 1987 | |
| Nakamura Yoko | 1987 | |
| Naka Tatsuya | 1989 | |
| Noda Kenichi | 1990 | |
| Taniyama Takuya | 1990 | |
| * | Imai Hiromitsu | 1991 |
| Takahashi Satoshi | 1992 | |
| Kobayashi Kunio | 1993 | |
| Ogata Koji | 1994 | |
| Walter Crockford | 1996 | |
| Ikenaga Atsushi | 1996 | |
| Hirayama Yuko | 1998 | |
| Okuma Koichiro | 1998 | |
| Iwasawa Mayumi | 1998 | |
| Ubukata Koji | 2003 | |
| Yamada Satomi | 2004 | |
| Nemoto Keisuke | 2004 | |
| Okuie Satomi | 2004 | |
| Kurihara Kazuaki | 2004 | |
| Shimizu Ryosuke | 2004 | |
| Kumeta Riki | 2007 | |
| Takahashi Yuko | 2008 | |
| Inokoshi Yusuke | 2008 | |
| Chubachi Koji | 2009 | |
| Ueda Daisuke | 2010 | |
| Shiina Mai | 2010 | |
| Iimura Rikiya | 2012 | |
| Ogane Yutaro | 2013 | |
| Igarashi Tatsuro | 2018 | |
| Osato Ryota | 2018 | |
| Takahasi Chiharu | 2019 | |
An asterisk (*) denotes individuals who have passed away
| Independent | Nishiyama Hidetaka | ||
|---|---|---|---|
The following individuals no longer have any affiliation with the JKA:
Expelled
| Name | Former Instructor | Former Member |
|---|---|---|
| Abe Keigo |  |
|
| Aramoto Nobuyuki | |
|
| Asai Tetsuhiko | |
|
| Inaba Tsuneyuki | |
|
| Isaka Akito | |
|
| Ishimine Minoru | |
|
| Kagawa Masao | |
|
| Kagawa Masayoshi | |
|
| Kanayama Kyosho | |
|
| Mizuno Yoshihisa | |
|
| Naito Takashi | |
|
| Shin Naomitsu | |
|
| Tamon Penpa | |
|
| Tanaka Chougo | |
|
| Yahara Mikio | |
|
| Yamaguchi Toru | |
|
| Kanazawa Hirokazu | |
Quit
| Name | Former Instructor | Former Member |
|---|---|---|
| Kase Yasuharu | |
|
| Kasuya Hitoshi | |
|
| Katsumata (Suzuki) Yutaka | |
|
| Shirai Hiroshi | |
|
| Tatetsu Meicho | |
|
| Asano Shiro | |
|
| Kato Sadashige | |
NOTE: For Japanese names throughout this website, we follow the Japanese custom of indicating surname first, followed by the given name.
