The under 73kg world title holder was one of 12 students given a one-month suspension from the Nara Prefecture university and was stripped of the team captaincy earlier this month for his role in a series of assaults on a group of first-year students, where he admitted to striking teammates on two occasions.

"I deeply regret what I've done," said the 21-year-old upon hearing of his suspension from the university.

"I apologise for my actions, especially with the All Japan Judo Federation trying to crack down on physical abuse in the sport."

And his show of remorse may well have had an impact on the somewhat lenient sanctions handed out to himself and the other senior students by the AJJF, which is under increasing pressure to get its house in order after a series of scandals this year.

Shohei Ono admitted to striking teammates on two occasions

"Some called for a punishment longer than three months but he is a student with a potentially bright future ahead of him, and we felt it wouldn't be right to irreparably damage his career," said AJJF general secretary Yasuhiro Chikaishi.

"We had to consider the element of education here."

Along with Ono and eight other seniors, five second-year students and two team officials were reprimanded for their roles in the abuse.

International Judo Federation (IJF) President Marius Vizer has demanded that the AJJF submits a report by October 15 regarding the abuse scandal that rocked the sport in Japan earlier this year, when it was found that female national team judokas were regularly beaten with wooden sticks and abused by their coach. 

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