LA Olympic Judo Gold Medalist Yasuhiro Yamashita Opens Up on Paralysis and Recovery After Hot Spring Accident

The Hakone Hot Spring Fall That Changed Everything

Yamashita, the 69-year-old former president of the Japanese Olympic Committee, sat down for a single-interview broadcast on TV Asahi’s Hodo Station, hosted by Shuzo Matsuoka. During the appearance, Yamashita detailed the October 29, 2023, incident that left him with a severe cervical spinal cord injury while visiting a hot spring in Hakone on a private day trip.

Inside the Sudden Collapse and Heat Shock

“I found out later, it was heat shock,” Yamashita said during the broadcast.

He described how he had been sitting at the very edge of an open-air bath. “I told my son, ‘I’m getting out soon,’ and when I stood up… from there my consciousness cut out completely.” He lost consciousness and fell approximately two meters down a cliffside.

Major Surgeries and Long-Term Paralysis

The accident resulted in a severe injury to the cervical spinal cord at the center of his neck bones.

Yamashita underwent two major surgeries during a two-year hospital stay, including a procedure to transplant pelvic bone into his cervical vertebrae. The medical interventions left him with paralysis from the neck down. He explained to viewers that he currently retains feeling only from the neck up and in a portion of his left hand.

Addressing his current condition and the decision to appear on television in a wheelchair, Yamashita struck a philosophical tone regarding his survival.

Accepting Destiny and a Spared Life

“I suppose it is another part of my destiny,” Yamashita said. “I think I was able to accept reality more than people around me might imagine.”

Regarding the visibility of his wheelchair-bound appearance, he added, “My life was spared. What does that mean? I will borrow help from various people, but thinking about the meaning of what I can do is my duty as someone whose life was spared by a hair’s breadth.”