The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) is pleased to announce that, effective March 1, 2024, Dr. Mayumi YaYa Yamamoto will join WADA as Director of the Agency’s Asia/Oceania Office in Tokyo, Japan.
Dr Yamamoto succeeds Mr Kazuhiro (Kazu) Hayashi, who retired on 31 December 2023 after 20 years with WADA, during which he established the Agency’s presence in Asia/Oceania and had a significant and lasting impact on the fight against of doping in the region and World.
Since 2012, Dr. Yamamoto has been leading the Education and Project βPLAY TRUE 2020, Sport for Tomorrowβ for the Japan Anti-Doping Agency (JADA). In this role, YaYa has worked with governments, anti-doping agencies and sports organizations in the Asia/Oceania region. and, with a range of stakeholders from the global anti-doping community to promote clean sport.
In this new role as WADA Director, Asia/Oceania Regional Office, Dr. Yamamoto will play a key stakeholder engagement role for WADA in the region. The priorities of WADA’s regional offices β which are also located in Cape Town, South Africa. Lausanne, Switzerland; and Montevideo, Uruguay β are driven by the Agency’s strategic priorities. In particular, the regional offices are in contact with Public Authorities and regional sports organizations. support regional stakeholders in developing their anti-doping programs and achieving and maintaining compliance with the World Anti-Doping Code; support capacity building; assist in the implementation of training programs; and facilitate the collection of WADA’s financial contributions in each region.
WADA Director General Olivier Niggli said: βDr. Mayumi YaYa Yamamoto has a very rich background in sport and anti-doping, having started the anti-doping chapter of her career with WADA’s Standards and Harmonization team in 2009. Over the years, YaYa has volunteered to contribute to countless national and international committees and teams focused on raising the game for athletes worldwide, including serving on the WADA Education Committee from 2014-2023. I am very pleased that YaYa has agreed to rejoin the WADA team as Director of our Asia/Oceania Office. He is already working effectively with WADA leadership and stakeholders in the Asia/Oceania region and elsewhere in the world. and thus, I am very confident that YaYa will be able to continue the outstanding legacy of our former longtime Director, Mr. Kazuhiro (Kazu) Hayashi.β
In 2009, Dr. Yamamoto was awarded a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in Sport Policy and Management from the Institute of Sport & Leisure Policy at Loughborough University in the United Kingdom (UK) after earning a BA in International Relations and an M.Sc. of Arts (MA) in Sociology of Sport. YaYa was a competitive basketball player and now enjoys recreational sports with her family and friends.