Six organisations - HRW, Athlete Save Japan, Japan Judo Accident Victims Association, Japan Safe Sport Project, Kantokuga Okottewa Ikenai Taikai and Unisocc -  wrote to the JSA commissioner Koji Murofushi and Tokyo 2020 President Seiko Hashimoto, urging them to create a safe sport centre.

"Japanese athletes have long faced a harsh reality that in order to compete, they must endure abuse and mistreatment," said Shoichi Sugiyama, lawyer and founder of the Japan Safe Sport Project.

"Japan can and should lead the global movement for reforms to protect children and athletes in sport."

HRW say a safe sport centre would allow athletes to report abuse and allow them to track how the report is being handled.

It follows on from a HRW report released in July last year called "'I Was Hit So Many Times I Can't Count': Abuse of Child Athletes in Japan", which documented physical, sexual and verbal abuse of children when training in sport.

Japan's history of corporal punishment, called "tabaitsu", was detailed too.

There have been reportedly more than 121 deaths of athletes in judo training since 1983, according to the Japan Judo Accident Victims Association.

"During the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, all eyes were on Tokyo," added Kanae Doi, Japan director at HRW.

"Now, after the Games have closed, the attention shifts to their legacy and the long-term human rights benefits the Games can bring to children and families in Japan."

Keiko Kobayashi, former director of Japan Judo Accident Victims Association, is one of those calling for the safe sport centre after his son became severely disabled from tabaitsu.