Illegal Substance Abuse Testing

This is probably in question to whether a Chiba Lotte player used an illegal stimulant or not.

There was a report out of the Shukan Asahi tabloid (August 19-26 edition). I remember hearing last week about the possibility of it, though right now I still don't think too much of it, due to that it was a tabloid (they're not really that believeable), and due to the consensus in Japan dealing with steroids and illegal stimulants. There is a 0% tolerance to drugs in Japan.

[Full Story - Japan Times - after game recaps]

A famous incident was former Kintestu Buffaloes player Dick Davis who was arrested for drug possession. He was arrested and later released. Japanese baseball is conservative and is different from MLB. If a player were to do steroids that player would be shunned as a disgrace to the team and society itself.

Drug abuse itself in Japan was lower than most countries in 2004 [Drug Abuse in Japan - privided by the National Police Agency]. Does this mean that crime doesn't exist in Japan? No. It just means that there is a conservative approach taken towards steroids in the NPB.

Does it mean that there aren't steroids in Japan? No. I just don't believe they don't exist at all in the NPB, contrary to the popular belief the NPB is very conservative and resistant to change.

Well, I'd be very disappointed if this is true, because I love the Marines.

Let's test Okawari Nakamura while we're at it! There must be steroids in his obento.

I'm so glad someone has brought this topic up! Bles you guys!

There is clearly some drug abuse going on in pro yakyu (though as for Okawari, I think he's just had one too many tabehodais). Two teams in particular jump to mind as likely steroid users, and a few other players as well. I only hope testing begins ASAP, as it places the teams that play by the rules at a disadvantage.

I read something the other day in the Yomiuri (ironically enough!) about Bobby Valentine fielding questions regarding alleged amphetamine abuse, and I nearly laughed. Chiba! There are drugs out there, but this is one team definitely not using them.

Your guys' thoughts? What should the penalties be as MLB's are, I believe, too light?

Sorry to nitpick, but if we are talking about "illegal substances" as this thread's title says, then I speculate NPB will have little say in penalties. Anyone caught in possession of an illegal substance (let alone using it) will be reported to the police and face criminal charges.

Performance-enhancing substances that are not "illegal" would be more of a grey area. Still, given Japan's total intolerance of drugs and mistrust of anything that could be remotely linked with drugs, it's easy to imagine that punishment would be harsh and swift.