‘Scary moms’ drive Japanese figure skating

Japan’s Olympic figure skaters point to one reason behind the country’s figure skating success: scary moms. Japan’s three women figure skaters at the Olympics – Mao Asada, Akiko Suzuki and Kanako Murakami – all come from Nagoya, in the Aichi Prefecture. Asked how the region produced Olympic contenders, 19-year-old Murakami said, “The mothers in Aichi are very enthusiastic. Some of them are very scary actually. It’s not just the coaches who crack the whip but those mothers.” Asada also added that there was a real skating culture in Nagoya. Japan’s 1992 Olympic silver medalist Midori Ito also came from the area. The three skaters competed in this year’s Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, finishing fifth in the team event.

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